


Long Way to Fall

by rylek196



Category: Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Darker Than Source Material, Darkfic, Friendship Falls Apart, Novelization, Realistic Pokemon, Social Commentary, Societal problems, Worldbuiling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 114,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24827599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rylek196/pseuds/rylek196
Summary: "Be careful when you fight monsters, lest you become one." As Hilbert Warren travels through the Unova region, he will learn the value of these words, as each hardship he endures drives him further down the path into murderous psychopathy... Novelization of Pokemon White. Rated T for language and some violent content (to be moved to M eventually).
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Prologue 1: Forced Evolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE 23/11/2020: New chapters of this going forward will be posted TWO WEEKS before they are here or FFN on a new site called FanFiction.Online.

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Prologue 1: Forced Evolution**

“Is everything ready?” a man with green hair asked.

“Yes, sir,” a scientist wearing a lab coat and sitting in front of a control panel answered. “The laser is good to go. We can begin any time.”

The other scientist sitting next to him was not so confident. “This is insane,” he muttered fearfully. “Once we do this, that thing's gonna evolve, get loose and kill everything. Everything being us.”

The green-haired man simply pulled a Poke Ball from his belt, and clicked the circular button on its front twice, opening it. In a flash of light, a deadly-looking Pokemon appeared. It was red, humanoid, and just over five feet tall. Its body was clad in armor resembling a samurai mixed with a chess piece, an axe-like blade adorning its head. Wickedly sharp blades were also present on its forearms and stomach.

The Pokemon took a fighting stance as the offending scientist cowered in fear. "Bisharp, as you will," the green-haired man said. "Night Slash."

As the Bisharp's forearm blades extended to twice their usual length, the doomed scientist got up out of his chair and ran for the door. Bisharp, however, moved to block his way, grabbing him and slamming him into the wall hard enough to make the man cry out in pain. With a quick motion of one of its arms, it then cut his throat wide open, letting him slide to the floor with a choking gurgle, his blood pooling on the floor.

The other scientist gave an uninterested grunt as the green-haired man recalled the Bisharp to its Poke Ball. That was Ghetsis for you, the scientist thought. All business, all-committed to his goals, all the time. There was no room for those who were uncertain. And his murder of the scientist demonstrated a fundamental rule of Pokemon: They could not kill each other, but they could very easily kill humans.

"Shall we... bring it in, sir?" he asked, not giving the corpse a second glance.

"Yes," Ghetsis replied. "Get someone down here to replace the incompetent, and... have guards posted outside the room with Fighting-types, just in case."

The scientist nodded, calling someone over the intercom in the lab. Two more workers hurried into the room shortly thereafter, one dragging the body away, while the other sat down behind the control panel, preparing to monitor the energy levels of the Pokemon that was about to be brought into the adjacent room.

Through a large, thick glass window, they could see a scientist wheel a cart on a track into the room behind the control panel. Thoroughly strapped down to the cart, was a black-and-blue coloured, quadrupedal Dark/Dragon-type known as Zweilous. Zweilous was a very unique Pokemon, to say the least. The middle stage of the Deino line, it could evolve into its final form, the deadly pseudo-legendary called Hydreigon, one of two ways. The first way was getting both of Zweilous's dueling dual heads that often competed over food to like each other, accomplished by raising it to level 64. This would trigger a split personality merge, leading to evolution into Hydreigon.

However, this approach come with significant downsides, particularly where time and training were concerned. Raising a Zweilous, which were notoriously difficult to handle at the best of times, took many months, and Ghetsis did not have that much time, not now.

Fortunately, there was another way. This second option was dismissed by experts worldwide as, "insane," "barbaric," and it was something that, "only the most uncaring and utterly inhumane of Trainers would dare do."

Ghetsis gave an evil smirk, recalling that last quote. What he wouldn't have given to see the look on the face of the fool who said it, Professor Rowan, right now... He would have to snap his neck afterwards, of course, though. Still, in hindsight, it was a massive error in judgment to leave such a crucial part of bis plan to the last minute, but now there was no other choice.

Once two guards armed with Fighting-types- one of the Deino line's few reliable weaknesses- were posted outside the room the Zweilous was in, Ghetsis gave the order.

"Fire up the laser. Make sure to keep it steady, and watch for any sign of that thing's energy levels fluctuating."

"Yes, sir," the first scientist replied, pressing a few buttons on the control panel. The other kept a close eye on the monitor in front of him.

Through the glass window, a machine attached to the ceiling whirred to life. Various red lights on it powered up, glowing. Slowly, it began to move along its rail until it was about a foot from the Zweilous. The Pokemon thrashed against its restraints, but they were simply too strong.

"It's energy levels are steady, despite how much it's struggling," the scientist watching the monitor reported.

"Good," Ghetsis said. "Ready?" At the other scientist's nod, he simply said, "Do it."

The man flipped a switch, and the machine began to fire a red-hot laser from its tip, leaving a scorch mark in the floor. It moved closer to one of the unfortunate Zweilous's two necks. There was no blood, gore, or anything of the sort as the Hostile Pokemon had a head cut off, nor had anyone expected there to be. Pokemon were unlike any other beings in the universe, comprised of solid energy, and nothing more. This was why they were unable to kill each other, as the energy of their attacks and energy that made up their bodies canceled each other out, preventing fatal damage. Even the fabled Hoenn deities of the land and sea, Groudon and Kyogre, could not kill a measly Caterpie. In fact, as the decapitated head fell to the floor, it dissolved into a white mist.

"That's all we need to do," Ghetsis said. "Shut it down."

With the turn of a knob, the laser was powered down. Beginning at the stump on the end of its neck, a white glow began to envelop the Zweilous's body. The glow spread, until it had completely covered the Hostile Pokemon. Its form became larger, more fearsome, more deadly. To the horror of the scientists, the restraints holding the evolving Zweilous down began to snap due to its changing body shape.

"Sh-should we be worried, sir?" the second scientist asked. Ghetsis just shot him a dark look that said, ' _Say one more word and you share your predecessor's fate.'_ That got the man to quickly shut up. The scientist had good reason to be worried. He had heard of the destructive power of Hydreigon, but had never witnessed it, and he didn't want to.

He was destined to be disappointed.

The glow around the Zweilous faded. In its place was the three-headed, six-winged terror known as Hydreigon. A freed, and very, _very_ angry Hydreigon. The Pokemon snarled up at the laser emitter, then flew up the several feet it needed to reach it. It quickly ripped the machine to bits, literally tearing it down and rending the metal. It then, seemingly in an insane fit of pain, began to throw its body around, hitting the walls hard enough to dent them.

Nervously, the second scientist called the two guards with the Fighting-types over the intercom. "...We could use some help subduing that thing, please."

Two men entered the cautiously, each throwing out Poke Balls that opened to reveal humanoid Fighting-types: the squat, red-skinned Judo expert called Throh, and the lean, blue-skinned Karate master known as Sawk.

The rampaging Hydreigon whipped its heads towards the intruders. It let out a roar that Ghetsis and the scientists could hear even behind the pane of thick glass. The Sawk's Trainer gave the first command. "Sawk, use Rock Smash!" he called. The blue Pokemon leaped into action, hitting the crazed Dark/Dragon-type with a pressure-point striking punch. The Hydreigon screamed as it was hit with the super-effective attack, flying across the room and hitting the wall hard. It was far from finished, though. It got right back back up, and swooped, not towards the Sawk, but towards its Trainer.

Luckily, the Throh's Trainer was there to provide backup. "Seismic Toss, now!"

Throh intercepted the Hydreigon, grabbing it and tossing it to the floor. Despite being hit with two attacks, the beast was still not down for the count. It got back up yet again, knowing that if it took one more hit, it would faint. When it attacked this time, though, it truly showed its power, unleashing a devastating Dragon Pulse at the Sawk.

At such close range, the blue Pokemon didn't have a hope in hell of dodging the multi-coloured beam. It was struck hard, and due to Sawk being a glass cannon defensively- that was, it could hit hard, but couldn't _take_ a hit- it went down, condensing back into the energy it was as its Trainer recalled it to its Poke Ball.

The Hydreigon then turned its attention to the Throh. It used the scant few seconds of shock that came over its Trainer to viciously attack the Judo Pokemon, biting and attacking with savage bloodlust. "Throh!" the Trainer yelled. "Dammit, get out of there!"

At the sound of the human's voice, the Hydreigon stopped trying to gore the poor Throh, and gathered flames in its maw, launching what looked like a five-pointed star made of fire at him. The man was killed instantly as the Fire Blast made contact, and also turned the sealed room's temperature up several hundred degrees in a second. The Sawk's Trainer shrieked as he was cooked alive. The scientists in the adjoining room were rooted to their seats in fear., but Ghetsis was watching with a perverse sense of awe at what he was witnessing. He smiled to himself. _Perfect,_ he thought.

Then, without warning, the Hydreigon began to gather yellow energy in front of it, congealing it into a sphere. Ghetsis's smile vanished in a heartbeat. "It's charging up a Focus Blast!" one of the scientists yelled. "Everyone, _down!"_

Despite the glass being made to withstand heavy impacts, it was no match for the Hydreigon's sheer power. The pane shattered instantly as the bolt of kinetic energy hit it, sending deadly shrapnel flying at the three men. Ghetsis dove to the floor, but not quite fast enough. Several stray pieces of glass hit his right arm, tearing the sleeve of his lab coat and drawing blood, while one sliced across his eye, blinding it immediately. Unfortunately for him, adrenaline didn't enter his system right away, so the pain was acute.

The scientist on the left had managed to duck in time and avoid the shards, but the other had not been so lucky. His body was slumped forwards, pierced in dozens of places by razor-sharp glass. The still-living scientist pressed the intercom button on the still functioning control panel and began to yell frantically. _"We need backup down here! We need-!"_ he never finished his sentence, as another Focus Blast turned him into meat juice, sending blood and various bits of guts flying everywhere.

"Gah..." clutching the bleeding side of his face, Ghetsis stood, pulling out Bisharp's Poke Ball and releasing the Sword Blade Pokemon. "Bisharp... nhhgh... X-Scissor!" The only other weakness of Dark-types was Bug, and X-Scissor was a Bug-type move. The Bisharp ran at the Hydreigon, its arm-blades glowing green and crossed in an 'x' shape, ready to slash, but it was cut down in a heartbeat by another Fire Blast from the insane Dragon-type.

Ghetsis looked upon the beast with the same sense of awe as before, despite a growing voice in his head telling him he should run for his life. The monster truly was a perfect killing machine, and would have no trouble accomplishing the task he had in mind for it. He heard footsteps out in the hall, moving closer. Apparently the dead scientist's final message had gotten through. He just needed to hold out a little longer...

The Hydreigon let loose one more Fire Blast right at him. Ghetsis almost dodged the fiery five-pointed star, but it caught him on the arm, setting it ablaze. He screamed in pain, rolling around on the floor, trying to smother the flames. As the monstrous dragon opened its mouth for one final Dragon Pulse, a blue blur came out of nowhere and slammed into the beast. The Hydreigon smashed into the wall on the far side of the room and landed in a heap, at last knocked out. In shock that he was still alive, if wounded and burned, Ghetsis passed out, and everything went black. 


	2. Prologue 2: The Crowning

**Long Way to Fall**   
  
**By: Rylek196**   
  
**Prologue 2: The Crowning**

  
**Unknown location, 10:00 PM**  
  
The torches were lit, illuminating the great throne room hall, casting flickering shadows upon the walls.  
  
The banners that bore the organization's emblem were hung, watchful sentinels over the proceedings. The sages and lesser members were gathered.  
  
All was ready.  
  
Holding a small purple pillow upon which a golden crown sat, Ghetsis walked through the hall towards an ornate throne. He had long changed out of his lab coat, now wearing a fancy cloak more suitable for the ceremony that was about to begin- the crowning of the king of Team Plasma.  
  
"Today!" he announced, "Is a glorious day! After many years, the king is finally ready to bear the honor of the task of Liberation! Liberation of Pokémon from the selfish, disgusting _Trainers_ that abuse and enslave them!" He spat the word 'Trainer' out of his mouth like it was a toxin he had accidentally ingested.  
  
The six sages, and a large gathering of lesser members of the organization, lining the hall, all cheered. Ghetsis let them have their moment, then held up his hands to silence them. "Bring forth the king!"  
  
On cue, a young man, clothed in elegant robes fit for royalty, appeared at the end of the hallway. He had tea-green hair, much like Ghetsis himself, but his was much longer and trailed down his back in a bushy ponytail. He was flanked on either side by two women, his caretakers, Anthea and Concordia. The young man slowly, and almost reverently, walked down the carpeted floor towards the throne. Ghetsis moved aside briefly, letting the young man stand in front of the ornate chair.  
  
Ghetsis held the crown high above his head with both hands, revealing his badly burned right arm. Thankfully, a (less-than-willing) skin donor had prevented the need for amputation, but the wounds were still visible, and permanent.  
  
As the crown was lowered onto his head, the young man closed his eyes, thinking of his early childhood. He remembered being alone, with no one to raise him save for wild Pokémon. He also remembered how Ghetsis- his _father-_ had found him, and taken him home, taught him of the dangers and selfish abuse Trainers gave to their Pokémon, how important it was to separate them and let Pokémon be free, perfect beings. All of it had led to this day...  
  
Then, feeling the weight of the crown upon his head, he opened his eyes again, the reminiscing over.  
  
Cheers of, "Long live the king!" broke out in the hall, while Anthea and Concordia looked on from the sidelines.  
  
The young man raised his left arm to call for silence once more, opening his mouth to speak. "As king of Team Plasma, I, Natural Harmonia Gropius, swear to lead the world into a new and better age! I will embrace this solemn and and sacred duty wholeheartedly, and liberate Pokémon from Trainers that have abused them for _far too long!_ Humans will no longer cruelly oppress Pokémon! This, I promise on my life!"  
  
While all this was being said, Ghetsis was doing some recollections of his own. He had been saved by an Accelgor, a lightning-fast Bug-type, owned by a member of his most loyal servants- the Shadow Triad. The mad Hydreigon had been confined to a special Poké Ball that would only open when the central button was clicked three times in rapid succession. He had been warned to never open it until it was time, and to recall the crazed dragon _immediately_ after its task was done. Surgeons had operated on his injured eye, but there was nothing they could do, and it had to be removed. Ghetsis now wore a red monocle of sorts to cover the scar.  
  
The room in the P2 Laboratory where the Zweilous had forcibly evolved had suffered heavy damage, and as a result, project GENESECT had to be put on hold, at least for two years. Still, these were minor setbacks. Ghetsis allowed to himself to smile. Yes, everything was going as planned...


	3. Chapter 1: Childhood

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 1: Childhood**

**"He who fights with monsters must take care to ensure that he himself does not, in turn, become one." -Frederich Nietzsche**

**Eight Years Earlier...**

"Five...Four...Three...Two...One... Ready or not, here I come!" six-year-old Hilbert Warren said, turning around and opening his eyes. Like he expected, his two friends, Cheren Weiss and Bianca Kinway, were nowhere to be found. Still, the young boy WAS going to find them. That was the point of hide-and-seek, after all. On top of that, there weren't many places to hide in their small town of Nuvema, and if worst came to worst, he could just ask around, and people would happily rat out Bianca and Cheren for him.

Smirking at that last thought, he then began scouring along Nuvema's dirt pathways. The rules of the game the three friends (and their parents) had agreed upon was that the interior of any of their own houses was a viable hiding place.

A tiny hamlet located in the southeastern corner of the Unova region, Nuvema consisted of eight houses, with his, Bianca's, and Cheren's houses in a row of four with one other house facing south, while the other four houses were placed above those in another row facing north. The last building in the town was a combination house and lab for Cedric Juniper and his eighteen-year-old daughter, Aurea, though the pair was rarely around, with Cedric out doing research and Aurea off in university at Castelia City.

For the next five minutes, Hilbert ran through Nuvema Town, checking the sides of and behind houses, his loose blue T-shirt flapping in the wind. His brown hair was covered by a baseball cap with a half-red, half-white design, with a black Poke Ball insignia on the front. In truth, he knew exactly where Bianca was, but wanted to prolong the game because he found it fun.

Sure enough, when he looked on the right side of the northeastern-most house, there she was, her back turned to him, her off-white clothing and blonde hair sticking out against the burgundy-red bricks. He smirked again. He could finish this without even needing to chase her, and then she would be 'it' next game.

With soft footsteps, he crept up behind her, and yelled, "BOO!" in his high-pitched voice. Bianca shrieked and whirled around, but it was too late. Hilbert had already touched her on the shoulder. Now, not only was she 'it' next round, now, she had to help him track down Cheren.

"Hilbert!" Bianca whined, "Don't do that!" And how do you always find me so fast every time?"

"It's 'cause you pick the same hiding spot every time, Bianca!" Hilbert said. "That's why I find you so fast. You're very pre... pre..." he trailed off in his speech, trying to find the right word and failing. "Well, you're easy to guess, is all."

The girl crossed her thin arms, her face falling. "...This means I have to help you find Cheren, right?" She sighed, hating the fact that she was going to have the impossible task of finding Hilbert and Cheren next time. Out of dozens of games, she had never found them without help.

Hilbert's face, on the other hand, brightened, a smile dimpling his cheeks as he nodded. "Mhm-hm! Now c'mon! Cheren's not gonna catch himself!"

For the next twenty minutes, they looked all over Nuvema Town, including thoroughly checking their own houses with help from their respective parents. Hilbert knew that Cheren was rather intelligent, and never gave up a game without effort.

The pair then checked the last place they knew Cheren was allowed to hide as per the rules: His own house. However, even there, they came up empty-handed, and in defeat, they went downstairs to talk to Cheren's parents to get the black-haired boy to give up. Just as they went into the kitchen where the two adults were having lunch, they heard the front door slam. Hilbert and Bianca both exchanged a look, and then raced to the door, throwing it open, catching a glimpse of Cheren running to the left, to the side of the house. Apparently, he planned on switching hiding spots to give them the slip.

"I'll take one side, you take the other!" Hilbert yelled as he ran in the same direction as Cheren. "We'll cut him off!"

"Okay!" Bianca said, taking the opposite direction around the house. Cheren soon found himself cornered, but didn't give up, trying to run ahead of him, but Hilbert caught him before he could, giving him a rough shove- far rougher than it needed to be. Cheren nearly faceplanted into the grass, but just managed to put his arms out in front of him to catch himself.

"Hilbert!" Bianca said in horror, "That was too much!"

"What?" Hilbert replied with total nonchalance. "He's fine." He helped Cheren to his feet, who started laughing.

"I... I can't believe you two missed me!" he said between bouts of laughter. "I was hiding in the _closet,_ and y-you didn't even _think_ to check there! Hahahaha!"

Despite Cheren's joviality, Bianca felt uneasy. There was something about the unnecessary force Hilbert had used (and this wasn't the first time, either), and his total lack of caring about the consequences that bothered her. There was just an air of subtle aggression about him. Nonetheless, she didn't dwell on it, as it was time for the next game.

Things went predictably. Bianca, for the life of her, couldn't find Hilbert or Cheren, as their methods of hiding were far more crafty, and so she enlisted the help of her neighbors, who pointed her in the right direction. After that, having gotten bored of hide-and-seek, the three children just lay in a circle on their backs, watching the clouds go by. Hilbert had taken off his cap and placed it in the center of them all, not wishing to get grass stains on it by wearing it while laying down. The hat meant a lot to him, his father having given him it shortly before the man had left two years ago.

"Hey, that cloud looks like a Swablu!" Bianca cried, pointing upwards.

"Of course it does, Bianca," Cheren sighed. "Swablu have clouds for wings."

"Oh... Well I knew that!" the blonde girl snapped in a meager effort to defend herself. Deciding to change the subject lest she make herself sound even more foolish, she said, "Hey, speaking of Pokemon, what do think we'll do when we're on our adventures after we get ours?"

Both Hilbert and Cheren were silent for a moment at that, then Hilbert said, quietly, "I don't know. But just... think about it. We'll be grown up by then, able to explore on our own... It'll be great!" His voice was steadily growing more enthusiastic. "We'll see the all the places Unova has to offer, meet all kinds of people and Pokemon... I can't wait to experience it! We'll get stronger, beat the Gym Leaders... maybe we'll be lucky enough to battle the Elite Four! Maybe even become Champion!"

Unknown to both Bianca and Hilbert, a ravenous look was growing in Cheren's eyes at Hilbert's words, especially at the 'battle the Elite Four and become Champion' part. The black-haired boy could practically _taste_ the adulation he would receive from that accomplishment. Cheren decided, right there and then, that that was what he wanted to do on his journey when the time came. 'Become the Champion of Unova' would be his ultimate goal.

"Hey," Hilbert then said, rolling over onto his stomach, resting his head in his palms, "When we're on our Pokemon journeys, let's agree to back each other up when we need it." He extended an arm, his pinkie finger outstretched towards Cheren and Bianca, who were now on their stomachs as well. They both nodded, wrapping their own pinkie fingers around Hilbert's.

"Promise!" they all said simultaneously.

That night, before Hilbert was tucked into bed by his mother, Julia, he turned on the small TV in his room, and after a few minutes of flipping through channels, happened upon a live broadcast from the faraway region of Orre, where a Trainer clad in a black trench coat the announcer called Wes was battling an evil-looking man named Evice.

What followed would haunt the young boy's nightmares for days, but also leave him strangely fascinated in a morbid way. The battle on TV was utterly brutal, with both Wes and Evice's Pokemon fighting savagely. It was clear to even the six-year-old that there was something at stake in this battle. Eventually, Wes was able to win by capturing the terror of Evice's team, a Tyranitar, in an Ultra Ball.

When his mother came into the room, she started to scold him for staying up so late, but seeing the shellshocked look in her son's eyes, she comforted him, drawing the young boy into her arms to calm him down.

A few years later, Hilbert would learn the truth behind that battle. Evice was actually the leader of an evil crime syndicate called Cipher, dedicated to the conquest of the world. They preformed unspeakable experiments on Pokemon, turning them into soulless monsters used only to destroy. Wes, by thwarting Cipher, had, in turn, essentially saved the world. Hilbert could only hope his journey never took that path, but a small part of him longed for it, to experience the violence and thrill that it would bring. Much as he tired to push that part of himself down, though, he found it never totally went away.


	4. Chapter 2: Your First Pokemon!

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 2: Your First Pokemon!**

**Eight years later...**

Time passed as per the will of Dialga from that day, aging and maturing the three children from Nuvema Town. As the sun rose on a mild day in early March, a now-adolescent Hilbert woke from sleep, feeling grumpy because of the nightmare he been visited by the previous night. While there was something cool to be said about being a giant monster, it was significantly _less_ cool when you felt the pain of getting stabbed in the head _as_ said giant monster. Nightmare aside, he did his best to stay positive as he rolled out of bed and walked to the shower, a fresh set of clothes in hand. After all, today was a day he had been looking forward to for a long time.

Just over two weeks before, his mother had sent out an email asking for, received, and filled out a government forum that allowed for him to legally become a Pokemon Trainer. Just a few days after she sent the forum off to the government offices located on Unity Island off the coast of Castelia City, a parcel had arrived at his door that contained both his Trainer Card and a blue Unova League Badge Case. The card came pre-loaded with 3000 Pokedollars, and had a small headshot of himself printed on the back. The case, on the other hand, was to hold any and all Gym Badges he won, assuming he won any to begin with.

As Hilbert shampooed his hair, he thought about what he would do on his impending journey. His aim was to maybe win a few Badges to start, and go for them all if it worked out. If he was feeling ambitious after succeeding in that goal, he would definitely try challenging the Elite Four.

Hilbert stepped out of the shower, put on a fresh pair of boxer shorts and a pair of black jeans, and looked at his shirtless form in the mirror. Time had changed him into a handsome, if slimly-built and out-of-shape, young man of fourteen. His hair had grown as he aged, and now spiked up in the back, almost like a crown of horns. His light-brown eyes appraised himself briefly before he decided to weigh himself on the bathroom's scale. The digital display showed 115 pounds as soon as stepped on it. Hilbert wasn't delusional enough to think that excess weight came from muscle.

_Well, if there's one thing this journey will_ definitely _do, it's whip me into shape,_ he thought jokingly, and then put on a black T-shirt and zipped up his two-toned blue jacket. His mother had bought him a similar, if smaller, one for his twelfth birthday, and he had absolutely fallen in love with the design. Since then, jackets of its type had more-or-less become his signature item of clothing, aside from his hat, of course. He kept it hanging off his bedroom doorknob, and as he picked it up, he was hit with an inexplicable feeling of melancholy thinking about the man who gave him the headwear.

_Dad... where did you go?_ he thought. A flash of anger tore through him without warning, and he clenched the hat tightly in his fists. Hayden Warren, his father, left him and his mother ten years ago for reasons unknown, even to his mother. Hilbert had barely gotten to know him before he vanished, seemingly into thin air. He didn't hate the man- he never knew him well enough to form an opinion of him- he just hated the fact that he never got the chance _to_ know him.

The doorbell rang from downstairs, cutting through and dissipating his anger in a heartbeat. He bounded out of his room and down the stairs, but his mother, who was already awake, was faster. She had already opened the door, and was speaking with Professor Juniper, who was standing on the doorstep.

Behind the Pokemon expert, holding a cardboard box and tapping his foot impatiently, was Cheren. The black-haired boy was dressed in a white T-shirt with a red stripe down the middle, black skinny jeans that contrasted against Hilbert's baggier ones. and a blue jacket somewhat similar to Hilbert's, though his had a higher collar that was adorned with faux Mareep wool, and lacked a hood. He also now wore glasses, as his eyesight had begun to fail him starting at age nine. He pushed the eyewear up on his nose, the lenses glinting in the morning sun. Despite his somewhat nerdy appearance, Cheren actually was in better shape, and had a thicker build, than Hilbert.

Meanwhile, Julia Warren was just finishing up her conversation with Professor Juniper, who walked back to her lab, Julia doing the same to the kitchen.

"Finally," Cheren said as he marched into Hilbert's house, closing the door behind him and slipping his shoes off. "I thought they'd never be done talking."

Hilbert just rolled his eyes at Cheren's rude comment, but then his gaze was drawn to the box Cheren held. "I think I know what's in there," he said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"And you would correct in that thinking, my friend," Cheren replied, smirking. "What I have here is our future, because in this box are the three Pokemon that will lead us to our destiny! Let's go upstairs and open it right now!"

Hilbert nodded, following Cheren to the stairs, but was stopped by his mother's voice. "Hang on, you two," she said, having overheard their entire talk. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you, Hilbert? Come get something to eat. It's scrambled eggs with extra peppers, just the way you like it."

_That_ got Hilbert's attention, and he actually perked up slightly. "You go ahead, Cheren. Get everything ready. I'm not passing up on this."

A change seemed to come over Cheren in a millisecond, his expression darkening. "Fine," he said in a low, quiet voice, almost a growl. "But you better not take too long. I've been waiting for this for a long time, and you better not slow me down."

Hilbert's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowing. "And what do you mean by _that?"_ he said in a challenging tone.

"Just. Don't. Take. Too. Long," Cheren hissed. With that, he walked up the stairs, and was gone.

Hilbert gave a frown, moving back to the kitchen, his nostrils picking up the scent of freshly made scrambled eggs.

"What's gotten into Cheren these days?" his mother asked, turning off the stove.

Hilbert just shrugged, getting a plate out of a cupboard. "Beats me. I think he's got hopes of beating the Pokemon League. At least that's what he told me. He seems to be taking that goal a little _too_ seriously, though, huh?"

"Well, I can't fault him for being ambitious," his mother said. "But this is _your_ big day too, and for that..." She walked over holding the frying pan, scooping scrambled eggs filled with diced red and green peppers onto Hilbert's waiting plate. She kissed him on the cheek. "Congratulations on becoming a Trainer, honey."

"Thanks, Mom."

Hilbert began to dig into his food, but was barely halfway done eating when Cheren's voice yelled from upstairs, "HILBERT, COME ON! I'M GETTING OLD HERE!"

_"Fuck,"_ Hilbert hissed under his breath, so low his mother couldn't hear it. "Well, so much for breakfast, I guess," he muttered. "Sorry Mom, it seems _someone_ is a little impatient to open that box."

"Oh, it's fine, sweetheart," his mother said. "Those won't go to waste. I'll just have the rest myself!"

Hilbert chuckled at her comment, but his expression turned sour as soon as he started going up the stairs. The house he lived in was a small, two-story, two-bedroom three-bathroom arrangement. Just like every other house in Nuvema Town, it was ideal fora small family. His mother had gifted him the master bedroom as soon as he turned ten, explaining the presence of its adjoining bathroom. She had done this, Hilbert suspected, to get away from the memories of her long-gone husband, though she never outright told him the reason for her decision.

At the top of the stairs and down a hallway was his room, and he stopped in front of the door. An angry Cheren was not high on the list of things he wanted to deal with today, but it appeared unavoidable. "What the hell was that about?" he demanded as he walked into the room. "Would it have killed you to wait a few more minutes? And did you really have to friggin' yell?"

"Well, yeah, I did. You wouldn't have heard me otherwise. It got you up here, didn't it?" Cheren's face was the definition of smugness.

"Missing. The. Point. Man," Hilbert said, clearly irritated.

"Hilbert, come on," Cheren said, putting his hands up in a gesture of innocence. "You know I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just excited is all, and waiting is... kind of a bother. Weren't you over the moon about being a Trainer when we were kids? What's with the sudden change of heart?"

"There hasn't been one," Hilbert said. "It's just that unlike _you,_ I have some damn patience. We still have to wait for Bianca, anyway, so there was no point in calling me up here!" _And by now Mom's probably eaten the rest of my eggs..._ he mentally added in a disgruntled manner.

"You're right on that," Cheren sighed. He then glanced towards the box now sitting on the nightstand next to Hilbert's futon bed, something Hilbert was not blind to. "Just imagine it, though... Becoming strong and famous, fighting with the best of them- or hell, even being mentioned in the same breath as the Legendary Trainers like Brendan Ruby, Gold Hibiki, or even Red Fire!" A look similar to a crazed animal was growing in Cheren's blue eyes, and Hilbert was disturbed by it.

"Calm down, there, Mr. Ambitious," he said. "You do realize that won't happen overnight, right? _And_ that they all went through a lot of hell to get that recognition? Let's just watch TV for a bit while waiting for Bianca, okay?"

"Alright," Cheren grumbled. Hilbert turned on the big flat-screen TV (which just so happened to have been bought by his father) against the wall opposite his bed, and the two sat down after finding the movie 'The Hero of Time' playing on a particular channel. However, as the minutes dragged by, Hilbert found himself tuning out the film, thinking instead of the various so-called 'Legendary Trainers' Cheren had made reference to: Brendan Ruby of the Hoenn region, Ethan 'Gold' Hibiki of Johto, and Red Fire of Kanto. All three regions were far away from Unova.

Brendan Orlando Ruby had, at age twelve, defeated the two maniacal eco-terrorist organizations of Team Aqua and Team Magma, saving the world from their plans to radically and apocalyptically alter the planet's weather. Not only that, he had also beaten the Hoenn region Champion, Wallace, and now ran a place called the Battle Frontier with his childhood sweetheart whom he had recently married, May Anna Ruby, who was formerly known as May Anna Birch. One of his close friends, a Trainer named Wally, had become one of the Frontier Brains, intensely strong Trainers who ran the Battle Frontier's many battling facilities.

Gold had been a child prodigy. At the tender age of _eleven,_ he had taken down once and for all the infamous criminal syndicate called Team Rocket. He had also trekked across his home region of Johto and the neighboring Kanto, winning all the Badges from the Gym Leaders of both countries (this is where his nickname of 'Gold' came from, as he was known as 'the gold standard of Trainers'), and had faced Red atop the hallowed, freezing peak of Mt. Silver. The lights from their battle were said to be so bright, they turned the night into day for several kilometres around, and could be seen from Indigo Plateau, the site of the Kanto-Johto Pokemon League. (In truth, the former Champion, Lance, actually had).

As for Red- _DING-DONG._ For the second time that day, Hilbert's train of thought was cut off by the doorbell ringing. "I'll get it!" Hilbert's mother called from downstairs.

"That must be Bianca," Cheren said as Hilbert shut off the television. Sure enough, less than a minute later, Bianca walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Bianca wore an orange vest over a white, puffy-shouldered shirt, a white skirt that went down to her shins, orange leggings under that, and a green hat that looked like an oversized beret was on her head.

"Hi, guys!" she said. "Um, am I late? You two seem like you've been here a while."

"That's because we _have_ been," Cheren answered with a slight edge to his tone, but then he just sighed. "For the love of Arceus, Bianca, I've always known you have no sense of time, but really? Today of all days?"

"Oh, well _excuuuuse_ me!" Bianca shot back. "It's not my fault my alarm clock's batteries died! Or that... that..." she trailed off, looking suddenly downtrodden.

"What? What is it?" Cheren asked.

"I-it's nothing. Nothing at all," the blonde girl said, causing Hilbert and Cheren to both give her questioning looks. Clearly, there was more than met the eye with what Bianca was saying, but they weren't going to pry into her personal business, either.

There was a silence for a few seconds, broken by Hilbert saying, "Anyway... let's open that box, shall we?"

Both Cheren and Bianca agreed, and the three friends turned their attention to the box on the nightstand. "Oh?" Hilbert noticed something taped to the box's lid. "There's a note here..." He took the note off the box and read it aloud. _"I've brought three Pokemon, one for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely. Enjoy your Pokemon! -Professor Juniper."_ Hilbert finished reading the note, then peeled off the tape holding the lid in place with his fingernails, and opened the box. Cheren and Bianca huddled closer as the lid came off. There, inside a foam inlay, were three red-and-white Poke Balls, polished to a mirror sheen.

Cheren spoke first. "They look so awesome... Finally, I'm going to be a Trainer..."

Sadly, even as his arm reached for one of the spheres of its own free will, Bianca was keen to cut him off.

"Ooh! Ooh! I want first pick!" Bianca cried, pushing Hilbert out of the way, only for Cheren to lightly slap her arm down as she reached for a Poke Ball.

"Geez, you're even more eager than me!" he said. "But I have bad news for ya: _I_ get first pick because I did the most research beforehand!"

From there, Cheren and Bianca began to argue with each other over who got first pick of their starter. All the while, Hilbert's face got steadily more furious, until he exploded. "ENOUGH!" he yelled. "What did Juniper say on the note? 'Please settle your choices politely!' How damn hard is that!? Stop acting like snot-nosed brats!"

Cheren and Bianca stopped what they were doing immediately. Hilbert was quick to anger, and they had both foolishly forgotten this fact. Not letting up his advantage, Hilbert continued. "You don't even know which starter is in which Poke Ball, do you? So tell me, how the hell were either of you gonna get what you wanted?" His nostrils were still flaring as he breathed heavily from anger.

_Much as I hate to admit it, he's right,_ Cheren thought. "W-well, check the underside of the lid or something. Maybe there's information there."

Hilbert snatched up the lid he had discarded onto the floor, looking at the underside. Sure enough, there were pictures of each Pokemon, which ball contained what, and their genders. "...You're right," he said. "Everything's here. Good call, man." He pointed to the Poke Ball on the left hand side. "That one contains Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokemon. It's a female."

Snivy was a small, green, reptilian creature, with large red eyes, a cream-coloured belly, and a tail that resembled a three-pronged leaf. In the photo that had been taken of it, it looked rather snobby, like it knew everything, and wasn't afraid to tell the world such. _Match made in heaven for you, Cheren,_ Hilbert thought. He then pointed to the Poke Ball on the right. "That one has Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokemon. It and the last starter are both male."

Tepig was a quadrupedal, orange, pig. It had a pink ball on the end of its curly tail, a thick yellow stripe on its snout, and curious-looking eyes. Hilbert actually thought it looked rather cute in its picture. Bianca, who was watching over his shoulder without his knowledge, apparently thought so too.

"Oh, my gosh, that thing is absolutely _adorable!"_ she squealed, giving Hilbert a start. Shooting her a dirty look, he nonetheless ruled out picking Tepig, as she clearly wanted it for herself.

"And last but not least, we have Oshowatt, the Sea Otter Pokemon," he finished, pointing the Poke Ball in the middle.

Oshawott was an otter-like creature. Its body was light blue in colour, while its arms and head were white. Two small, dark blue ears, the same colour as its feet and rudder-like tail, were present on its head. The most notable thing about Oshawott though, was the pale yellow seashell on its belly. In the picture, Oshawott was smiling cutely towards the camera, revealing two pointed teeth in its mouth.

"Well, I guess because the box was delivered to Hilbert's house, he gets first pick, right?" Bianca said.

_"And_ because you two were acting so immature," Hilbert added. "Now I hope neither of you wanted Oshawott, because I'm choosing him!" He picked the ball up out of its spot in the inlay, holding it up to his face, seeing his reflection in the shiny metal. "Looks like you're comin' with me, buddy!"

"Then I get dibs on Tepig!" Bianca cried, picking up the rightmost Poke Ball. She then handed Cheren the last remaining ball. "And that leaves Snivy for you!"

"That's actually perfect. I wanted Snivy from the start anyways. According to my research, it'll have the best defenses and speed out of the three when it evolves. I'm curious, though... what made you guys pick yours?"

"Simple," Hilbert said, smirking. "I think this Oshawott has some serious potential. Plus, look at this thing's picture and then my jacket. We match, see?"

Cheren just sighed in exasperation. _You're clueless, Hilbert._

Bianca's reason, on the other hand, was even _more_ shallow. "Um... I just picked it 'cause I thought it looked cute..?"

Cheren face-palmed, the sound making an audible _smack_ from the force. "You should never... _ever_ pick a Pokemon based on its looks alone, Bianca. Stats and type are what matter. That's why I studied beforehand, so I could pick the starter I thought was best for me."

"Sounds like you think I made a bad choice."

"Maybe you did."

"You take that back!" Bianca snapped. "There's only one way to know for sure, and that's to have a battle! I'm challenging you, Cheren. Right here, right now!"

Hilbert's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "In _here!?_ Are you _nuts!?_ You'll trash the place!"

"Then why don't you join in, try and stop us?" Cheren smirked at Hilbert.

Hilbert growled, his fists clenching, but Bianca overrode him by piping up. "Yeah! It could be an awesome three-way free-for-all! It'll be extra satisfying too, when I _win."_

"We'll see about that," Cheren said in a friendly yet challenging tone. Bianca just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Okay, fine! I'll join in!" Hilbert snapped. He let out an angry sigh. "I know I'm gonna regret this, and if my room gets trashed..." he left the implied threat hanging.

"Does the info on the lid say what level they all are?" Cheren asked.

Hilbert looked at the lid again. "Uh... 5."

"Perfect!" Cheren said, rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist from an old movie. "Then they all at least know Tackle. We can have our first battle now!" Clicking the button on the Poke Ball's center twice, the capsule opened, and in a flash of bluish-white energy, Snivy appeared, letting out a preening hum.

"Weren't you supposed to throw the ball?" Bianca asked.

"No, that's not strictly necessary," Cheren replied. "The throwing motion opens the ball automatically, true, but the reason people throw them to begin with is to get the Pokemon as far away from them as possible before the battle starts. These things are dangerous when they're fully evolved, and no one wants to get caught in the crossfire of a battle."

"Yeah, that makes me feel _soooo_ much better about doing this in my room," Hilbert muttered, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Relax, Hilbert, I said when they're fully evolved," Cheren reassured him. "The ones we have are still weak, so they shouldn't do too much damage."

"Okay, Tepig!" Bianca said, clicking the center button on her starter's Poke Ball, "Come on out!" In another flash of energy, the Fire Pig Pokemon materialized with an excited oinking noise. "Aww!" It's just as cute as it looked in the picture!" Bianca cried in joy.

As Bianca fawned over her Tepig, Hilbert clicked his Poke Ball's central button. "Alright, Oshawott, let's show 'em what you can do." There was a third flash, and the blue Water-type appeared, slapping the floor several times with its tail.

"Okay, Bianca, you stand over there," Cheren said, pointing to the left wall. The only thing there was the door to the bathroom, which Bianca closed to prevent the fight from spilling into there, as well. "Hilbert, take the right. The TV wall is mine."

Hilbert and Cheren took their positions. "Everyone ready?" Cheren asked, to which the other two nodded. "Then let's do this!"

"Alright, Tepig, go straight for Oshawott! Use Tackle!" Bianca cried. Tepig followed his Trainer's command, making a headlong beeline right for Oshawott, who cried out in fear and dove to the side. Tepig then rammed into the wall, narrowly missing Hilbert, punching a hole in the wall and getting its head stuck.

"Holy crap!" Hilbert yelled. He whipped his head towards Cheren. "I thought you said these things wouldn't do any damage!"

"I said they wouldn't do _too much_ damage, Hilbert," Cheren said, shrugging. "Besides, it's not my room, and we need to do this to get some battling practice given how many other Trainers we'll be fighting on our journeys. Speaking of that, Snivy, attack Tepig while it's open, then go for Oshawott!"

"Oh no!Tepig, come on! Get-!" It was too late. The Grass Snake Pokemon had already ran up to and slammed Tepig from the side. The Fire Pig Pokemon let out a squeal as it was hit, but the blow had the side-effect of loosening its head, allowing it to rip it free, covered in drywall dust. Tepig shook the powder out of its eyes, dazed.

"I won't let you get away with that, Cheren!" Bianca cried. "Tepig, go after Snivy! Take it out!"

Snivy, however, had already moved on to attack Oshawott. It slammed its body into the Sea Otter Pokemon from a running start, sending it flying onto Hilbert's bed in the corner of the room. _Cheren, you son of a bitch,_ Hilbert thought, finally ordering his Pokemon to do something. "Oshawott, get up! Tackle Snivy!"

Snivy yelled as both Oshawott and Tepig ran for it, eager for a little revenge.

"Do something, Snivy!" Cheren commanded, but could only watch as his starter took a simultaneous Tackle from the other two, sending it sailing into a wall, denting the drywall.

Hilbert winced at the beating his room was taking. The sheets on his bed were disheveled, there were holes in two separate walls, and he had a feeling the battle was far from over. _I don't think Mom's gonna be happy..._

"Snivy, GET UP!" Cheren growled. His starter got to its feet, shaking its head. "Use Tackle again! Go for Tepig!"

The battle kept going for nearly ten minutes, and it was a complete seesaw, with someone having the upper hand, but then quickly having that position of advantage knocked away from them by someone else. It all ended when Oshawott was cornered with its back to a bookshelf located to the left side of the TV. Tepig and Snivy both ran at the Water-type, expecting an easy knockout, but Oshawott leapfrogged over Tepig, causing it and Snivy to crash headfirst into the shelf. It teetered, shook, and began to tip forward. "Oshawott, get outta there!" Hilbert yelled. Too little, too late. The bookshelf toppled over onto the three Pokemon, knocking them all out with an almighty **_CRASH._**

"Uh oh," Cheren gulped. The three friends were stunned into silence for a second, then they all ran towards the bookshelf, lifting it off their precious starters. All three Pokemon were okay, if battered and unconscious, and would be good as new when healed up with a Potion or any other HP-restoring method.

Cheren gave a low whistle of admiration. "Damn... _maybe_ I underestimated just how much power these things have." He returned his Snivy to her Poke Ball, Hilbert and Bianca doing likewise with their starters.

"Gee, ya _think!?"_ Hilbert screamed, waving his arms at the utterly trashed room. The Wii, however, was unscathed, having come out of the chaos without so much as a scratch on it. "I _told_ you this would happen! My mom's gonna kill me when she sees this!"

"Hilbert, what was that crashing noise?" came Julia Warren's voice from downstairs.

"Speaking of..." Cheren said nervously.

Hilbert gave him a murderous look, jabbing him in the chest. "If she makes me clean this up, so help me..."

"Hilbert, calm down," Bianca said. "Let's just go apologize, and I'm sure she'll forgive us. Right?"

The baseball-capped boy closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. "Alright, fine. But you two are going first."

With that, Cheren and Bianca both walked out of the room, heading downstairs. Once they were gone, Hilbert looked around, surveying the damage done. He glanced down at the Poke Ball he held in his hand. He was reminded of the live broadcast he had seen back when he was six, of Evice vs. Wes. The damage done during that battle to the arena it was fought in was nothing short of devastating, and he had just gotten a taste of that now.

_Gotta admit, though, that was kinda fun,_ he thought. He held Oshawott's Poke Ball up to his face. "I think I made a good choice picking you, Oshawott. You were great out there. If we train hard, we might actually have a shot at beating the Gym Leaders or even the League."

Saying this caused his mind to drift back to Cheren's ambitions to equal the Legendary Trainers, but Hilbert was fairly certain his friend was blinded by delusions of grandeur. After all, no one talked about the hardships each one went through: How Brendan Ruby had nearly starved to death, lost inside of Hoenn's brutal and grueling Victory Road, how Red had been gone for years, or how Gold actually _had_ died, frozen to death on Mt. Silver after his battle with Red. All everyone ever talked about was how amazing they were as Trainers.

_Well... can't put off facing the music any longer, can I?_ Chuckling to himself in a gallows-humor sort of way, Hilbert followed Cheren and Bianca downstairs.


	5. Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 3: The Journey Begins**

Hilbert could hear his mother's voice as he came down the stairs. "-Oh, that's fine, Bianca. I'm sure you didn't do too much damage."

Cheren just nervously scratched the back of his head. "Uh... actually, about that..."

"No, not 'about that' Cheren," Hilbert said, walking up to them. "Everything's fine up there, _right?"_

"Oh! Uh, yeah!" Bianca said. "That loud crashing noise was just a bookshelf being knocked over!"

"You knocked over a _bookshelf!?"_ Julia said, alarmed. _"That's_ what that crashing noise was!? I'm going up there right now!"

_"No!"_ the three friends yelled out simultaneously, but it was too late. Julia was already running up the stairs. Hilbert just shot Bianca a murderous glare for letting the Purrloin out of the bag, to which Bianca only gave her trademark sheepish look back.

There were several moments of agonizing silence. Then, it came, sure as a sunrise. "HILBERT WARREN! GET UP HERE!"

_"Thanks, guys,"_ Hilbert hissed through gritted teeth. Then with a despondent sigh, he called, "Coming, Mom!" He followed his mother's footsteps up to his room, expecting the verbal lashing of a lifetime.

"What the hell happened in here!?" Julia yelled as he entered the room.

"W-well, l-like Bianca said, we had a battle with our Pokemon, and knocked a bookshelf over," he stammered nervously, but upon seeing his mother's expression darken, he quickly added, "It wasn't my fault okay!? I told them this would happen, but they didn't listen to me!"

His mother looked around the room. Almost every piece of furniture that could possibly have been dirtied in some way was, there were holes in two separate walls, and the bookshelf was knocked over. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to feel angry anymore. Her son was more than likely telling the truth, and he had just cracked under the peer pressure. She looked up at the ceiling and began to laugh slightly.

"Oh, Hilbert, what I am going to do with you? Come here." She drew her child into a hug. "You're fourteen, you can't let what other people say get to you or affect your choices anymore. Plus, you've got a Pokemon now, that's a big responsibility, especially if you plan on having a team of them."

"Sorry, Mom..." Hilbert said, his voice muffled somewhat from his face being pressed against her chest.

She let him go and held him at arm's length, her hands on his shoulders. Then, something suddenly seemed to come to her. "Oh, before I forget, I have some presents for you! Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

Hilbert did as he was told, closing his eyes. He then felt his mother place two indescribable objects in his hands. One had a fabric texture, while the other was more leathery. He opened his eyes, seeing what the objects were. One was a rather expensive-looking wristwatch with a digital display and a black leather wristband, and the other one was...

"A Cross-Transceiver?" he said, slightly awed. "Thank you!"

"Yep!" Julia replied. "No Trainer in this region would be caught dead without one!"

The Cross-Transceiver, or XTransceiver, was an essential communication tool for Unovan Pokemon Trainers. It was effectively a walkie-talkie with four small, built in screens and a camera, allowing up to four people to have a real-time video chat. The model Hilbert now had was a fairly standard blue, but they came in all kinds of colours.

Hilbert quickly buckled both items around his wrists, and gave his mother another hug in thanks.

"I'm going to miss you, sweetheart," she said tenderly as they broke apart. She pointed to the Cross-Transceiver. "Just remember, if you ever need me, I'm only a call away."

"I'll miss you too," Hilbert said.

"Now go on," Julia said. "I have a feeling your friends are getting impatient."

"What about my room?"

"I'll take care of it... well, as best I can. You just enjoy the adventure."

With one last hug between mother and son, Hilbert went back downstairs.

"About time," Cheren said as he heard Hilbert's footsteps. "I thought you'd never come back down."

"Considering you two are the reason I went up there in the first place, I don't think you have any right to complain, Cheren," Hilbert shot back through gritted teeth. He put on his plain black sneakers, and grabbed his shoulder bag from by the door where he left it after he and his mother packed it last night.

Cheren frowned, but said nothing. He and Bianca put their shoes on as well, and together they all stepped out into the late morning air of Nuvema Town. A flock of small bird-like Pokemon called Pidove that had gathered outside of Hilbert's front door scattered as they did so, flying off to parts unknown. Hilbert took a deep breath, enjoying the familiarity, but feeling somewhat melancholy that he would leave this corner of the region behind.

The landmass that made up the Unova region was actually three massive parallel peninsulas, separated by two rivers that fed into the ocean. To connect the peninsulas, there were, of course, bridges: the Skyarrow Bridge, which connected the right peninsula with the center one and served as a entryway into the massive Castelia City; Driftveil City's 'Charizard' drawbridge, Marvelous Bridge, Tubeline Bridge, and Village Bridge, which was an entire community complete with houses on the structure. Currently, there was nothing in the region's southwestern corner, with it only housing a few remote logging outposts that transported lumber to the industrial section of Castelia City via barges. Developers _had_ expressed interest in wanting to build there, but for now, it remained nothing more than talk and dreams.

The Unova region had been founded by two heroes in the ancient past, though their names were long lost to history, and was nearly torn to pieces by a civil war around 2,500 years ago, the details of which Hilbert knew little about, and cared even less about. History had never been his favorite topic. All he knew was the same vague thing every other Unovan did: when a new hero came to lead the region, a Pokemon of legends would aid them.

"You two go and grab your bags," Hilbert said to his friends. "I'll meet you in front of Professor Juniper's lab."

Cheren nodded without a word, heading off, but there was definitely more quake and unease in Bianca's reply of, "O-okay," before she too went to her house.

Hilbert went the short distance northwest in the town, stopping in front of the Juniper Pokemon Lab, Cheren joining him not two minutes later, a backpack slung over his shoulders.

"Where's Bianca?" Cheren asked.

"She hasn't gotten here yet. I'll give her about five more minutes, then I'll go get her."

Five minutes of thumb-twiddling and watch-checking later, Hilbert made good on his statement, wordlessly going back to Bianca's house. Her house was the southeastern-most building in the town, with Cheren's beside that, and Hilbert's being the next in line.

When he got to her front door, however, he could hear a male voice yelling from inside the house. "No! You're not going! Absolutely not!"

The thought of his friend getting yelled at- even it _was_ by her father- filled Hilbert with rage, and he roughly grabbed the doorknob, twisting it and throwing the door open. The yelling ceased at once as Hilbert walked into the living room. What he saw awoke anger in his soul.

Bianca was sitting on the couch, the unshed tears in her eyes clear for all to see, both of her parents towering over her. Her father's face was flushed with rage, while her mother was almost certainly trying to guilt-trip her going by the look on her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Bianca's father, a large and somewhat temperamental man with short blond hair by the name of Patrick, growled at Hilbert. If he was trying to intimidate him, the boy didn't falter.

"With all due respect, Mr. Kinway, what does it look like?" Hilbert said. "I'm here to get Bianca so we can head to Professor Juniper's lab and go on our journeys."

"No you are not!" Patrick cried. "Bianca is not going on some ridiculous journey, and that's final!"

Bianca's mother turned back to her daughter, once more trying the guilt-trip tactic. She was a slim woman with brown hair (Bianca having clearly gotten her hair colour from her father) who looked even smaller in the presence of her husband. "Bianca, _please._ Think about what you're doing. It's dangerous-"

"It's not just dangerous, it's downright _suicidal!"_ Patrick snapped, cutting his wife off. "Did you give _any_ thought to this!? Did you give any thought about what it would do to _us_ if we found out you got hurt? If you _died!?"_

Bianca just whimpered, looking at Hilbert, her tearful eyes sending him a desperate, silent plea for help. "Hey!" Hilbert piped up, "Don't you think you're being a bit too harsh-"

"No, we are _not,"_ Patrick growled murderously. He then marched up to Hilbert, leaning over him. "And if you say one more word, _boy,_ I will _throw you_ out of this house. Do I make myself clear? You will _not_ butt into things that don't concern you, and this is one of them! If I say Bianca is not going, then she is not."

This time, Hilbert _was_ intimidated. Left with little choice, he nodded. "...Alright," he said slowly, though inside, his blood was boiling in anger.

Seeing her friend being yelled at by her father awakened something in Bianca, a fire she never knew she had. "That's _enough,_ Dad!" she yelled, blinking away her tears. "I'm going, and you can't do anything to stop me! Hilbert, wait right there. I'll go get my bag."

Before anyone could stop her, she ran upstairs to her bedroom, and grabbed her pink purse off her bed. Before she left, however, she gave a nod to the big poster of Samus Aran she had on her wall, striking a heroic pose in her Power Suit. She then ran downstairs, grabbed Hilbert's arm, and pulled the bewildered boy out of her house, leaving her equally-bewildered parents behind.

Bianca then quickly began walking towards Juniper's lab, Hilbert trying to keep up. "Bianca?" Hilbert said. "What was that? What... what was that?"

"You weren't supposed to see that," she answered curtly, not breaking stride or looking back.

"Bianca, wait!" Hilbert said, grabbing her arm and turning her to face him. "Seriously, what was that about?"

"Well... you know how I was kinda late getting to your house today?" Bianca said. " _That_ was why. My parents caught me trying to leave the house, and we ended up getting into an argument- not as big as that one, of course. I had to run to get to your place, and in the heat of the moment, I forgot my bag."

The two started walking again, but this time at a much slower pace. "Okay, but why were your parents acting like that?" Hilbert asked. "I mean, they've always been kinda overprotective of you, but that was downright mean what they were doing back there."

"It's because of my cousin, Barry," Bianca replied. "My dad... well, let's just say that he doesn't approve of the way my uncle, Palmer, raised him."

"Oh yeah, you've told me about this before," Hilbert said. "You're cousins with the best friend of Lucas Diamond, the current Sinnoh League Champion, right?"

Bianca nodded. "My dad and Palmer never saw eye-to-eye growing up, and when he married my mom, he took on _her_ last name to cut ties with him forever. It's so bad I've never even _met_ Barry, and when my dad found out about the adventures he and Lucas went on... I just have a feeling he's been dreading this day as much as I've been looking forward to it. That was five years ago, though."

"Yeah, I remember hearing the stories back then," Hilbert said.

Five years ago, in the snowy region of Sinnoh, a Trainer named Lucas Diamond, and his hyperactive best friend, Barry Cedric, had, by chance, been given Pokemon and went on an adventure. During their travels, they had several run-ins with a criminal organization called Team Galactic. This Team, while posing as a legitimate energy company, had horrifying plans. The goal of its leader, Cyrus, was to _destroy the whole universe,_ and create a new one, one without emotion.

By the skin of their teeth, Lucas and Barry had defeated Cyrus and his personally appointed elite guard atop the sacred peak of Sinnoh's Mt. Coronet. Lucas then went on to defeat Cynthia, taking her title of Sinnoh League Champion.

By now, they had finally gotten back to Juniper's lab. Cheren was impatiently pacing back and forth, checking his watch. "Oh my _Arceus,_ you guys took forever! What kept you?"

"Let's just say Bianca had some... family issues," Hilbert said.

Sympathy dawned on Cheren's face, replacing his prior anger in a heartbeat. He put a hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Bianca, you don't have to go through any hardships you face alone." He held up his other hand, four of his fingers curled into a fist, with his pinkie extended upwards. "Remember the promise we all made when we were six? Back each other up, right?"

"Right," Bianca sniffled, wiping away fresh tears and holding up one of her pinkie fingers. She then put her arms around Cheren and hugged him, which he awkwardly returned.

After a moment of watching this go on, Hilbert cleared his throat. "Well, as adorable as this moment is, I think we'd best go inside, shall we?"

Both Cheren and Bianca broke apart like they had been burned. They both blushed. "Y-yeah, let's," Cheren said.

Rolling his eyes (if he became the dreaded third wheel, so be it), Hilbert opened the door to the lab, and they all went inside. The interior of Juniper's lab was quite neat and tidy, bucking the trend of how messy Pokemon Professor's labs usually got.

There were several machines, likely computer servers, against the back wall, next to which were bookshelves that held textbooks on all subjects related to Pokemon. To the left was another machine with a red, transparent glass dome on top that Hilbert couldn't identify, with Juniper's desk along the opposite wall. On that desk was a locked glass display case containing the rare Master Ball- the most powerful type of Poke Ball ever made. The lab was really only one-third of the building, with the other two partitioned off, Juniper's kitchen and living room in the area off to the right, with the bedrooms upstairs.

Sitting at the desk doing some paperwork, was the woman herself. Juniper looked up as the trio of friends entered. "Oh, hello, you three! I've been waiting."

Professor Aurea Juniper was a pretty young woman of about twenty-six years old. Her hairstyle was that of an unusual bun. She wore a green skirt, a white shirt, and her lab coat looked like something out of a fashion magazine more than anything a scientist would wear.

Juniper was only one of many Pokemon Professors around the world. The others were Professor Samuel Oak, of Kanto, Professor Allen Elm, of Johto, Professor David Birch, of Hoenn (May Ruby's father, and Brendan Ruby's stepfather), and Professor Roland Rowan, of Sinnoh. More than once, Hilbert had wondered why all the Professor's last names were trees or parts of them. The only exception was Orre's Professor Krane.

In the eight years since Hilbert had seen that broadcast, Orre had done much to clean up its act, turning the formerly bandit-filled region into something respectable. However, a mere two months before, in January, Cipher had attempted to make a return, under the leadership of the syndicate's global head, Greevil (Evice having only been the Orre branch head) but were driven back, this time for good, by a Trainer named Micheal.

Hilbert stood between Cheren and Bianca as Juniper continued speaking. "Let's get down to business, shall we? My name is Aurea Juniper."

"We know who you are, Professor," Hilbert said in a condescending tone, rolling his eyes. "We've lived in this town since we were in diapers."

Cheren drove his elbow harshly into Hilbert's side, causing the baseball-capped boy to let out an, _"Ooffph!"_ as the wind was knocked out of him. "What the hell was that for!?" he cried after coughing a few times to get his breath back.

"She's the reason we even _have_ our starters, right?" Cheren said. "So show some damn respect, would you?"

"Thank you, Cheren," Juniper said sweetly. She gave Hilbert a dark look that had ' _don't interrupt again'_ written all over it, to which the boy only gave a slight growl. "Anyway, my name is Professor Aurea Juniper. I'm the Pokemon Professor of the Unova region. I gave you those starter Pokemon for a special purpose, which is to fill in these... the Pokedex!"

From her pocket, Juniper pulled out three rectangular devices, fanning them out like playing cards in her hand. While Cheren and Bianca gasped in awe, Hilbert almost recoiled in horror.

"What are you two gasping about, for the love of Arceus!?" he hissed at them, pulling them aside. "You've both heard the stories, you know what trying to complete that thing did to Red!"

Red... the best, like no one ever was. The greatest Pokemon Trainer the world had ever known, and the first one to complete the Pokedex, or rather... _almost._ There was one Pokemon, Mew, that had driven him to destruction. While Red was the strongest, he was also terribly naive and uneducated about the world's Pokemon. He _did_ know about the other regions, but simply assumed the Pokemon there were the same as the 151 species from Kanto, when nothing was further from the truth.

He searched Kanto north, south, east, and west for three years, inside every cave and forest, under every rock, even keeping a map he stuck pushpins and string into in his room to keep track of supposed 'Mew sightings'. Even after all this, he came up empty-handed. This was also around the time Gold was collecting the Kanto Gym Badges. According to eyewitness reports, they had come close to meeting several times, but every time one got sidetracked or distracted. Eventually, Red became lost inside Mt. Silver, where he found Pokemon he had never seen before.

The discovery that he had been attempting to fill what was essentially a bucket with a hole in the bottom drove Red to the brink of madness. When Gold found him alone, standing on the peak of the mountain, he attacked in a rage. After he lost, Red disappeared, and hadn't been seen for five years.

It was all this and more that made Hilbert say, "No. I'm not taking one of those. There's no way in hell."

"Hilbert..." Juniper said with more than a hint of irritation in her voice, clearly already tired of his attitude, but this went right over his head.

"No!" Hilbert snapped. "You're nuts if you think I want to end up like Red!"

For a moment, it seemed like Juniper was going to blow a gasket on him, but then she thought better of it. "Fine, so be it," she said, pocketing one of the Pokedexes. "But good luck out there if you don't know what moves your Pokemon will learn and when."

"Wait... _what?"_ Hilbert said, incredulous.

"I'll explain here if you don't mind, Professor Juniper," Cheren said, and she nodded at him, giving him permission to speak. "Those devices are for far more than just keeping a record of the Pokemon you've caught, Hilbert. It also lists the levels and movesets of the Pokemon you currently have in your party, and tells you when they're about to learn a new one. It's also your only way of finding out your Pokemon's Technical Machine compatibility, as well. On top of all that, it tells you the health status of your Pokemon in real-time. Effectively, it's a status screen."

"That's exact;y right, Cheren! I can tell you've done your research!" Juniper said. "I should also add that Pokedexes aren't cheap, and the cost of them is one of the main reasons why some people don't get to go on journeys- their families can't afford it. And I'm offering you one for _free._ Take it or leave it."

Hilbert grimaced. His options were either (A, take the Pokedex and swallow whatever reluctance he had about doing so, or (B, stumble around in the dark not knowing what his eventual team's movesets were, and get nowhere fast.

He glanced down at the Poke Ball containing his Oshawott clipped to his belt. _Damn, she's got me by the balls. Both kinds, too._

Sighing, he gave into the inevitable. "Fine, I'll take it. But don't expect me to catch any more Pokemon than I absolutely have to." His tone was firm, and his mouth was set in a hard line, making it clear there would not be a compromise.

"Fine, I guess. Every little bit helps," Juniper sighed, plucking the Dex out of her pocket and placing it in Hilbert's outstretched hand. "Now that that's taken care of, I think it's high time we got going, didn't we? Follow me onto Route 1, you three."

"Um, Professor?" Bianca said nervously. "W-we can't. Our Pokemon are all knocked out. A bookshelf kinda fell on them when theywere having a battle in Hilbert's room..."

"Oh, that's easy to fix," Juniper said. "I'll heal them. Just give me a few seconds."

The three friends handed over their Poke Balls to her, and she took them over to the machine with the red dome on top. She pressed a button on the front, and the dome opened to reveal it was actually on hinges. She placed the Poke Balls in designated concave slots inside the machine. With the press of two more buttons, the dome closed, and the machine whirred for a few seconds, spraying a liquid over the Balls, then a fan was heard, and it let out a jingle.

"There!" Juniper said, taking the Poke Balls out of the machine and handing themback to the trio after grabbing a backpack from behind her desk. "All healed up! Now come with me. The day isn't getting any younger, after all!"

The three then followed Juniper out of the lab, where they were met with a trio of familiar faces: Hilbert's mother, and Cheren's parents, Sadie and Ross. All three had their phones out.

"What's this about?" Hilbert asked.

"Just taking a commemorative photo of you three setting out on your journeys, honey," Julia answered.

Juniper r olled her eyes and moved out of the way, not happy about yet _another_ holdup, but she knew she couldn't interrupt this, either.

"Okay... and... strike a pose!" Julia said.

Hilbert stuck one hand inside the pocket of his jeans, his legs shoulder-width apart, the other hand tipping the bill of his cap down slightly. Cheren opted for a more intellectual and thoughtful style, one of his hands on his hip with the other one rubbing his chin. Bianca gave an ear-to-ear grin, throwing one of her arms up in a sort of wave.

"Got it!" Julia exclaimed. "Okay, we'll leave you alone now. Have fun, you three!"

Bidding their final farewells (though Cheren couldn't help but notice the downtrodden look on Bianca's face due to the fact her parents weren't there) they headed a short distance east to Route 1.

At just under 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) in length, and about 500 meters (1640 feet) wide, Route 1 wasn't the longest path in Unova quite a margin, nor did it have many wild Pokemon species to catch, but at least it made up for those shortcomings in looks. The terrain started out flat, but went up into a gentle hill towards the end, before sloping down into Accumula Town to the north.

The seasonal flowers that grew along the path's edges were not yet in bloom, still trying to wake from the slumber winter's frost had put them in, but come May they would be. The wind blew in an eastward trajectory here, rustling the long grass that grew in abundance on the Route. At roughly the halfway point between Nuvema and Accumula, there was a short, westward path leading down to a small beach.

Just as Hilbert and Cheren were about to take their first steps onto Route 1, Bianca got an idea. "Wait, guys! Why don't we take our first steps onto this Route together?"

"I don't see any reason why not," Cheren said.

Hilbert just shrugged. "Let's do it."

"Okay!" Bianca exclaimed excitedly. She shouldered her way in between the two boys and grabbed their hands. Ignorant of Cheren's blush, she counted up. "One... two... three!"

On three, they stepped out onto Route 1, their feet hitting the dirt path at the same time.

"Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!" Bianca cried. "I wonder what will happen to us on this journey..?"

"I know for sure what'll happen to me!" Cheren said confidently. "By the time I'm done, I'll be the Champion."

"And there ya go again, being Mr. Ambitious..." Hilbert sighed. "Either way, we better go meet Professor Juniper. Come on."

A little ways up the path was Juniper, observing a group of Patrat. However, they scattered at the Nuvema trio's approach.

"Darn it!" Juniper said. She turned to the three teens. "I was going to use those Patrat to show you how to catch a Pokemon, but it's too late now, huh? I assume you already know though, right?"

"Yes, we know, Professor," Cheren said. "We've all seen people catching Pokemon plenty of times on TV."

"Alright then," Juniper said. "I'll leave you to your own devices, but I'll be close by if you need anything. By the way, since I forget to ask in the lab, would any of you like to nickname your Pokemon?"

"I'd love to!" Bianca exclaimed. She took her Tepig's Poke Ball off her belt and let it out. "How would you like to be called Taroko, hmm?" The Fire Pig Pokemon let out an oink of approval at its new name.

Letting out their starters, too, Hilbert christened his Oshawott 'Maru' to which the Sea Otter Pokemon gave a happy chattering of its teeth, and Cheren called his Snivy 'Tara', and the Grass Snake Pokemon uttered another hum of pride at this.

"Okay, you're all done!" Juniper said. "Catch Pokemon, train, or do whatever you like. Let's all meet up in Accumula Town at..." she checked her watch, "I'd say around two-thirty, since it's one o'clock now." She handed out five Poke Balls to each of them from out of her backpack, then left the trio, but still stayed within observable distance for their safety.

After they put the Poke Balls away in their respective bags, Bianca got yet another idea. "Hey, I just thought of something fun! Why don't we have a little competition between us to see who can catch a Pokemon first?"

"You're on," Hilbert said at once.

"Count me out," Cheren said, already walking away. "There's nothing on this Route I want. I'm just gonna train."

"Well, that leaves just you and me, Hilbert!" Bianca said. "May the best Trainer win!"

With that, she scampered off, leaving Hilbert by his lonesome.

_I guess it wouldn't be too bad of an idea to do what Cheren's doing in addition to Bianca's little contest,_ he thought. He took his Pokedex out of his jacket pocket and turned it on, checking Oshawott's current moveset. He only knew Tackle and Tail Whip. _Yeah,_ definitely _a good idea._

He walked north for about two minutes when a Patrat ran out twenty feet in front of him. He grinned. _Perfect._ He ran for it, but after a mere ten feet, he found himself winded. _Oh, shit!_

Giving up on running the whole way, he just threw his Oshawott's Poke Ball the remaining ten feet, thankful that Poke Ball technology had improved in the last five years.

Poke Balls in Red and Brendan Ruby's time had been large, about the size of a baseball, and heavy for their size, requiring a good arm to throw. However, an innovation from the Sinnoh region meant they were now much lighter and could be shrunk down to the size of a ping-pong ball for easier transport on one's person.

Regardless of how light or heavy the Poke Ball was, it opened in mid-air, releasing Maru right in front of the Patrat, slamming into it with Tackle without Hilbert needing to give it a command.

Patrat was a rodent-like Normal-type that was mostly covered in brown fur. Its belly and the lower half of its face, however, were cream. Its thin tail ended in a scruffy, unkempt ball of white fur, but the most striking feature of Patrat, by far, were its eyes. Giant, hideous, demonic things they were, painted a horrifying shade of fire-engine red by nature, with tiny black pupils and a vertical yellow stripe in each, just for good measure.

The Patrat let out a furious hiss, racing in a zig-zag pattern on all fours for Maru, but the Sea Otter Pokemon remained calm and collected, and when the moment was right, sidestepped the Patrat, ramming into it again with Tackle. The attack was more than enough to knock out the Scout Pokemon, sending it sprawling.

"Alright... way to go... Maru..!" Hilbert wheezed, still not having gotten his breath back. He went up to his starter, bending over and placing his hands on his thighs for support. _Man... I'm in serious trouble if I can't run more than ten steps without getting tired,_ he thought, recalling his starter to its Poke Ball. _I mean... I knew I was outta shape, but not_ this _outta shape._

After getting his breath back, which took a full two minutes, he continued on for the next near-hour, fighting a few more Patrat, bringing Maru's level up to 7, where he automatically learned Water Gun- a useful move to have for a while to come, but Maru took a few hits in the process. However, what Hilbert really wanted was a Lillipup, and he wanted to catch it before Bianca, if just for bragging rights. Unlike Cheren, who had done meticulous research on various Pokemon-related topics, Hilbert had slacked off in that department, only knowing that he wanted a Lillipup and a Drilbur on his team eventually, as Lillipup were reliable all-around Normal-types, and Drilbur evolved into the monstrously powerful Excadrill. Most everything else, he was in the dark about.

"Guys, come quick!" Bianca's voice suddenly called out. Hilbert rolled his eyes, but nonetheless ran to where her voice was coming from, along with Cheren and Juniper.

It turned out that Bianca had found the path down down to the beach. "Isn't the view so pretty?" she said once everyone else had gotten there. "I wish I had a camera, so I could take a picture."

"That's... that's all... you wanted to show us... Bianca?" Hilbert said. Despite his heavy breathing, the anger was clear in his voice.

"Well... yeah, that was it," Bianca said. "But wasn't coming down here worth it for the view?"

The view Bianca was referring to was a rather pretty eastward-facing ocean lookout, with several islands off in the near distance, mostly blocking off Castelia City from view, though the tops of the tallest skyscrapers were still visible.

Hilbert just growled. "Well... I'm going back... Juniper... what time is it?"

Juniper checked her watch. "It's about 2:10," she said. "We better start heading to Accumula Town now."

At that moment, they heard a yipping behind them. "Oh, a Lillipup!" Bianca exclaimed. Before Hilbert could react, she over to it, throwing out her Tepig. The boy watched with despair as she had her starter Tackle the Puppy Pokemon, and with the application of one Poke Ball, the Lillipup was caught. "Yay, I did it! I caught my first Pokemon!" Bianca cried out in jubilation.

She ran over to the Poke Ball and picked it up, checking her Pokedex. The Lillipup was female and level 4. "I don't think there are any Metroid creatures that look anything like puppies..." she muttered to herself, "So I think I'll call you Pepper."

"Well done, Bianca!" Juniper clapped. "That was masterful!"

Hilbert, on the other hand, was not as happy. "Dammit... that could... have been mine..." he seethed through gritted teeth. "If only... I was in... better shape..."

"Alright, I think it's time we got going to Accumula Town," Juniper said.

Cheren nodded. "I've done all the training that I wanted to, so I'm good to go."

_Fuck,_ Hilbert thought, fuming.

They left the beach, then walked north for the next fifteen minutes, Hilbert not seeing a single other wild Pokemon, much to his dismay. Bianca was telling Juniper about their contest and how she had won, further dampening his mood, starting to turn it from disappointment into rage.

However, just as they crested the hill leading to Accumula Town, they heard a loud yapping behind them, followed by the sounds of a scuffle. He whipped around, and ran back down the hill, seeing a Patrat attacking a Lillipup.

_Oh, you are not knocking that Lillipup out, you son of a bitch Patrat. I'm catching it._ "Go, Maru!" he yelled, throwing out his Oshawott. "Attack the Patrat, quick! Water Gun!"

Maru let loose a powerful stream of water, blasting away the Patrat. The Scout Pokemon hissed, and abandoning its previous target, made straight for Maru. The Lillipup looked at its apparent savior with a curious expression.

"Water Gun again, then Tackle it!" Hilbert commanded. Maru did as he was told, spraying the Patrat with another Water Gun, then running towards the dazed and soaked Scout Pokemon for the knockout blow. He rammed into it with his shoulder, the attack proving to be overkill. The Patrat was unconscious before it even hit the ground fifteen feet away.

_Now's my chance!_ Hilbert thought. He took a Poke Ball out of his bag and threw it at the Puppy Pokemon. Lillipup yipped in fear as it was sucked inside the Ball. The Ball shook three times and clicked, flashing black for a brief second to indicate the capture was successful.

"Yes!" Hilbert cried. He picked up the Poke Ball and checked his Pokedex. The Lillipup was male, and like Bianca's, it was level 4. "I think I'll call you... Logan," he said to his new team member.

Juniper, watching from the top of the hill, was stunned speechless. _That... that was incredible,_ she thought. _He has so much potential in him..._

Hilbert walked back up the hill, a little winded from the trek. "Now... we can get going..."

Without another word, they all crossed into Accumula Town, the shadows caused by the afternoon sun growing longer behind them.


	6. Chapter 4: The Child of Pokemon, N

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 4: The Child of Pokemon, N**

It was approaching evening as Professor Juniper and the three teens walked into Accumula Town, the sun beginning its descent. Accumula was a decently large town, dwarfing Nuvema, but it was still nothing compared to a place like Castelia. Consisting mostly of apartment buildings to the north, with two rows of more proper houses to the east, Accumula was rather hilly in terms of terrain in the past, though most of them had been tramped down by construction Conkeldur in recent decades to make room for development. Still, a few remained, most notably a small one beyond even the houses, and a big grassy one on the southwest side that served as a popular park for the town's inhabitants. The top of this hill provided a great view of the mountains to the north, including Reversal Mountain.

In the center of the town, basically serving as its hub, was the Pokemon Center, a crucial building for any place in the world with a population above a certain threshold to have, and this was Juniper's destination. This Pokemon Center, like all others, was a large, multi-story building made of white bricks and glass, with a distinctive red roof. They walked inside, finding the lobby not too busy. _Perfect,_ Juniper thought with a satisfied smile. She turned to her young protégées.

"Alright, welcome to your new home away from home: a Pokemon Center!" she said. "Obviously I can't be there with you every step of the way, so these places will help fill that gap and provide you with the support you'll need on your journeys. Now, I think your Pokemon need healing after all that training you did on Route 1."

She walked along the Pokemon Center's pale orange floor to the counter at the far end of the room, the lady behind it waving her over. Behind the Pokemon Center lady was a machine identical to the one they had seen in Juniper's lab. Above the counter was a large mezzanine, with two stairways leading up to it on either side. The mezzanine had three doors at the top, the one on the left and in the center leading to the halls with rooms where Trainers could stay the night, with the right one leading to the human hospital wing.

To the right, near the entrance to the Center, was a small walk-in store, but what goods it sold, Hilbert couldn't tell just by walking past briefly. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, there was a lounge area with couches and chairs, and a magazine rack. Two people were currently occupying this section, having a conversation, but they paid Juniper and the teens no mind.

"If you ever need your Pokemon healed, just ask this nice lady here, and she'll do it for free," Juniper said, gesturing to the nurse. "Hilbert, you go first."

"What do you need, sweetie?" the lady said to him in a friendly voice.

"Uh, I need my Pokemon healed if you don't mind," Hilbert said, blushing a bit. _She's so pretty!_ he thought.

He took his Poke Balls off his belt and placed them on the counter. The lady then took them and placed them into the machine, the lid closing after she pushed the appropriate button. The same process he had seen in Juniper's lab then repeated itself: a liquid was sprayed onto the Balls, a fan dried them. and the machine jingled to indicate it was done.

Hilbert stepped aside to let Bianca have her turn, then Cheren. Being curious about how the Pokemon healing machine worked, though, so he decided to ask.

"Um, if I may... how does that machine work? Like, what's that liquid it's spraying onto the Poke Balls?"

"Oh, that?" the lady replied. "That liquid is the same stuff found in Full Restore medicine. The central button is where the liquid seeps into, so that's how the Pokemon are healed. Speaking of which..." she trailed off as the machine let out its signature jingle. "Ah, done!" She took the Poke Ball containing Cheren's Snivy out and handed it back to him. "You'll all be pleased to hear that your Pokemon are completely fighting fit!" With a slight bow, she added, "We hope to see you again!"

One of Hilbert's brows shot up into his hairline. _Why would she hope that?_

Regardless, with the Pokemon healing now taken care of, Juniper was ready to move on. "Alright, now follow me. I need to show you how the PC works." What she was referring to was a big monitor painted white sitting on a chest-high stand near the left mezzanine staircase, under which was its tower plugged into the wall socket.

"This is the Pokemon Center PC," Juniper said. "Like the Pokemon healing services, it's free to use, and it will be invaluable when you're hopefully _completing the Pokedex,"_ the last bit was said with a glower towards Hilbert, "But you need to create an account to use the storage system."

"I'll go first, Professor!" Cheren exclaimed, pulling a sheet of paper out of his backpack. "I made my password in advance. It's super-secure. I can also explain how the PC's storage system works if you'd like me to do it for you. It was another topic of my research."

"Well, alright then!" Juniper said. "Show us how it's done."

Cheren hit the power button on the keyboard, and with a series of oddly melodic beeps, the monitor came online, and with it, a black screen with a white Poke Ball logo appeared. A second later, a vertical menu in a blocky font and colour faded in. The menu had only three options: Login, Help, and Contact. Cheren used the cumbersome laptop-style trackpad mouse to select Login, and clicked it. Another screen loaded in, this time with two bars, waiting to be filled in with text.

"You _can_ put in a username fort your storage system profile, but I'd recommend just using your real name," Cheren said. "It's not like this is an online forum, privacy doesn't really matter." He quickly typed 'Cheren Weiss' into the first box, but took quite a bit longer to put in his password.

Hilbert was stunned at how long it was- 22 characters at least! "Wha-?" he started to ask.

"It's a pass _phrase,_ Hilbert, not a pass _word,"_ Cheren said without turning around, though Hilbert could see him smirk in the reflection caused by the pitch-black login screen. "What? You didn't know those were a thing?"

Hilbert just sighed, only barely managing to hold back the urge to strangle Cheren in front of everyone.

Cheren finished putting in his password, and clicked 'create account'. This brought him to another screen, this one rather unusual. The majority of the space was taken up by a big square, inside which was a pixel-art grassland, with a separate bar at the top that said 'BOX 1'.

"Simple as that," Cheren said. He logged out and moved aside, gesturing for Bianca to make her account next. As Cheren ripped up the paper that had his password written on it, Bianca entered her own name and made-up-on-the-spot password into the bars. Unlike Cheren's, hers was much shorter, at only ten characters, the first seven of which Hilbert could guess with reasonable certainty, despite them only appearing as dots- 'Metroid'.

Bianca was utterly obsessed with the exploration based sci-fi series, he knew, and idolized its protagonist, Samus Aran, even having a big poster of her in her bedroom. However, he also knew this was for a rather sad reason. Due to her strict parents and their helicopter way of raising her, Bianca was timid and submissive most of the time (her outburst towards her father being the exception rather than the rule) and therefore looked up to Samus as a role model of who she wanted to be. She had even gotten Cheren hooked on Super Metroid a few years back via the Virtual Console on the Wii. Hilbert had tried the game as well, but found it not to his taste.

He was snapped out of his musings by Bianca saying, "Okay, I'm done! Your turn, Hilbert!"

Hilbert took his place at the keyboard, typing his name into the appropriate bar, but having no idea for what to use as a password, just used the old 'make-sounds-in-your-head-until-you-come-up-with-something-that-sounds-vaguely-like-a-real-word' technique. He eventually settled on 'troubador' with an ampersand and a number 3 slapped onto the end for good measure. He then moved aside so Cheren could enter his exorbitantly long password again.

"Alright, if you'll indulge me for a second, here's how this works," Cheren said after he logged in. "You see that concave slot on the right? All you do is put a Poke Ball in there, like this."

Taking his Snivy's Poke Ball off his belt, he put it in the slot, and a text box appeared on the PC's screen. 'Poke Ball detected,' it read. 'Would you like to store this Pokemon?' Cheren clicked YES, and to Hilbert and Bianca's amazements, the Poke Ball glowed blue for a second, and then vanished. A moment later, a pixel-art avatar of the Snivy showed up on the grassland in the PC.

"Oh, wow!" Bianca said. "But... what happened, exactly?"

"Well, Pokemon are made up of energy, right?" Cheren answered, turning around to address her. "What that did was turn the energy into data and then uploaded that data to a server. The guy who figured out how to make this work in the first place was someone named Bill. He's from Kanto, and is a real programming wizard. Unova's storage system developer is one of his pupils, a girl named Aminita." Tapping a few keys, his Snivy's Poke Ball returned from the digital world, and he clipped it to his belt.

"Cheren, I am very impressed!" Juniper said. "You really weren't kidding when you said you did your research." Cheren once more beamed at the praise. "But I would be a bit careful with this storage system," she added. "It's a bit unreliable and many glitches are known to occur for some reason, but no one knows why. Either way, it's time to move on. There's one more thing I need to show you."

They followed her over to the walk-in store, going inside, and they could _finally_ see what its shelves were stocked with: Poke Balls of all types, healing items of all types, as well as human-care items like bandages, toothpaste, and even condoms. With most traveling Trainers being either teenagers or young adults, Pokemon Centers wanted to prevent as many unwanted pregnancies as possible. The store was staffed by a man behind yet another counter on the left wall.

"This is the Poke Mart," Juniper said. "They sell whatever you'll need, Pokemon healing items and Poke Balls, as well as a whole host of other things I don't have time to list. If I did that, we'd be here until tomorrow afternoon." She giggled slightly at that thought.

One shelf that caught Hilbert's eye was stocked with brown plastic or thick paper bags with blocky text on them. "Professor, what are those?" he asked.

"Oh, those are food, Hilbert," Juniper said. "They're PTMRE's- Pokemon Trainer Meals Ready to Eat. They have a variety of menus, but I'll leave you to discover them on your own. For a bag your size, I'd recommend you get the Light Meal Trainer, an LMT. Be sure to buy some before you set out to Striaton tomorrow, you three. It's a fair ways, and I don't want you going hungry. Oh, and that reminds me- when you get there, go meet an inventor named Fennel. She's an old friend of mine, and she'll help you on your way.

"Now then, I'm going to head back to Nuvema Town. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"We'll be fine, Professor," Cheren replied. "Don't worry." He turned towards his friends, and held up his pinkie. "Back each other up, right?"

"Right," Bianca and Hilbert said in unison, holding up their own pinkie fingers.

"Then I guess I'll take my leave. Happy trails, you three!"

Bidding the three friends one final farewell, Juniper walked out of the Pokemon Center.

"Well, now what?" Hilbert asked. He checked his watch. "It's about three now, so I guess we could walk around town, see what there is to see."

"Hilbert, there's not much in Accumula," Cheren said. "Really, that park and a few shops are about it. I'm still going, because there might be a few Trainers, but still. I'm not exactly holding my breath."

"I guess I'll get us checked into the Pokemon Center, then," Bianca said. "You guys go do whatever. I'm just… not in the mood to go exploring."

"You'll have to be eventually, Bianca, especially once we get to Castelia," Cheren replied, then left the Center. Bianca then went back to the counter to talk to the lady about arranging their rooms. Hilbert, seeing no more reason to stay, left as well.

After half an hour of so-called 'sightseeing' Hilbert was thoroughly bored. _Cheren was right,_ he thought. _There really_ is _nothing here._ Below the two rows of houses to the east was a small grocery store, and tucked between the apartments were a few clothing shops, and _that was it._ Well… apart from the police station, which he instinctively glowered at when he saw it.

Everyone knew that police, not just in Unova, but all over the world, were completely useless. Being an officer was a last-resort, dead-end job that only the dumbest, untalented, and unskilled of Trainers took on because there were no other options for them. One particular event that really tanked police reputation from 'looked down upon' to 'outright hatred' in the eyes of the public was the Silph Co. Incident, wherein Team Rocket had taken over the main office building of the manufacturing conglomerate, and the cops had refused to do anything, leaving Red to kick out the criminals. In fact, a derogatory moniker was given to police by people after this- 'Grumpigs'.

Suddenly, Hilbert's Cross-Transceiver started ringing. He hit the accept call button, and Cheren's face appeared on the screen. "What is it?"

"Something's going on in the park, like a rally," Cheren answered. "Lots of people have gathered to watch. Get over here."

Before Hilbert could answer, Cheren ended the call. _Dammit,_ Hilbert thought. Luckily, he wasn't too far away from the park, but found it prudent to run, nonetheless. His pathetic stamina didn't even last him to the bottom of the hill, leaving him to trudge up it, panting like an exhausted Stoutland.

At the top of the hill was a flat area with picnic tables and one or two benches placed haphazardly here and there with no sense of purpose. Those weren't what drew his attention, though. Rather, it was the crowd that had gathered to see a group of seven strange-looking people all standing in a row, flags that bore a strange emblem on either side of them. They wore uniforms that like something out of the olden times, consisting of long white tunics over a grey-and-black bodysuit, complete with a grey hood. To complete the outfits, they had grey boots and gloves. On the chest of the tunic was the same emblem as on the flags.

The emblem was a half-black, half-white shield with a blue zigzag over top of it, and a big blue capital letter 'P' cut through the zigzag. "Wha… what the hell?" Hilbert muttered to himself, still out of breath. He saw Cheren waving to him, and he walked over, standing to his left in the crowd just as a massive man with sand-green hair moved out in front of the line of uniformed people.

The man was dressed even _more_ strangely than those of his apparent supporters (though Hilbert could barely believe that was possible), with his clothing being an elaborate set of colourful robes with designs on them that looked like eyes crying blood. One half of the robes was purple with a yellow eye, the other half being the inverse of that, yellow with a purple eye. To top off his absurd outfit, he wore a huge and heavy-looking bronze collar that looked like the battlements of a castle, and he had a red glass eyepatch of sorts covering his right eye. If the man wasn't over six feet tall and obviously of strong build judging from the metal collar he wore, his attire would almost have been funny.

The crowd quieted as the man began to speak, his booming voice not requiring a microphone to be heard. "Good evening, citizens of Accumula Town, and my fellow Unovans," he said. "I am Ghetsis, and I come as a representative of the Plasma Organization, also known as Team Plasma. As for why I am here, it's to inform you of Team Plasma's noble mission: Pokemon liberation."

The crowd murmured among themselves, Hilbert hearing things such as, "Pokemon liberation? What's that?" and, "What is this guy talking about?" as Ghetsis walked a few steps to the right, then turned his head back to them, addressing them once again.

"I can hear those curious mutterings of yours," Ghetsis smirked, the right side of mouth moving, while the left side remained totally still. "Our goal, as stated before, is as simple as it is noble: taking wounded or abused Pokemon from their so-called… 'Trainers'," he spat the word like it was a nasty taste in his mouth, "And take care of them, nurse them back to health. Then, when they are well enough, we release them back into the wild."

The crowd's murmuring became more enthusiastic now, with people saying, "Wow, that's really cool!" among other things, but Hilbert felt uneasy. However, he chose to keep quiet, for now, at least.

Ghetsis, meanwhile, was ecstatic. He had these people eating out of the palms of his hands. The clincher he was saving for the end would surely get them to do whatever he wanted.

"Of course, there is risk involved in what we do," Ghetsis said. "Sometimes, we must take the Pokemon from these horrid Trainers by force-"

"Wait, you're _stealing_ them?" one woman in the crowd said, interrupting him.

"In a sense, yes, but I assure you, it's entirely justified," Ghetsis answered. "I mean, you wouldn't want Trainers that outright _hurt_ their Pokemon to continue to have them, right?"

He took the crowd's continued muttering as a, "No, you wouldn't."

"Anyway, as I was saying, the risk involved in our mission is great. These abusive Trainers more often than not fight back against us, sometimes with the intent to incapacitate or even kill our members- in fact, we lost two this way just the other week." The subordinates standing behind Ghetsis all bowed their heads in unison out of apparent mourning. "Also, even when the abusers are dealt with, the job isn't done even _then._ The Pokemon we rescue are often feral and violent, dangerous even, due to the trauma they've suffered. It takes time and gentle hands to calm them down and make them trust humans again.

"So I come to you today!" Ghetsis suddenly yelled, thrusting his left arm out of robes for the first time, his fist clenched. Even though it could have been a trick of the light, Hilbert swore he saw the man's right arm as his robes parted when he thrust his left out.

 _Were those… scars, or was I seeing things?_ he thought. The sense of unease just grew stronger.

"Aid Team Plasma!" Ghetsis was saying. "Liberate your Pokemon! Set them free! Do not become like the awful Trainers we encounter on a daily basis! Catching and imprisoning Pokemon is amoral! It is abhorrent! It is a practice that must be _stopped!_ And that stopping starts with _you._ All of you. Think of the good that could be done for Pokemon- for the world!- if only we abolished the training of Pokemon, and let them be free beings."

Hilbert, whose expression was growing angrier and angrier throughout the last part of Ghetsis's speech, snapped. _Okay, that does it. "_ And what if I say you're full of shit!?" he yelled.

Ghetsis heard that, and immediately his eyes narrowed. His gaze zeroed in on the blue-jacketed boy, the one who had spoken up. " _What did you say?"_ he growled, sounding much less like a charismatic rally leader and more like a furious, feral beast ready to rip its prey to shreds.

Hilbert, though, was never one to back down. "Yeah, you heard me. I say you're full of shit."

Cheren was now glancing around desperately, wishing he had a sign he could hold up with an arrow pointing to Hilbert that read, "I'm NOT with him! Honest!" He felt the staring of the crowd, and suddenly a chill went up his spine, like a ghostly presence or a cold air had touched him, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He looked to his right, and saw a green-haired young man giving him the most evil, soulless stare he had ever seen. Cheren could only describe the feeling as being stared at by a living corpse. He shuddered, turning away, tugging on Hilbert's jacket sleeve. " _Hilbert, people are staring,"_ he whispered frantically at his friend through clenched teeth.

"Shut up, Cheren," an oblivious Hilbert shot back, brushing him off. He then felt the same cold chill go up his back, and he too looked right, locking eyes with the young man. In that moment, though Hilbert didn't know why, he knew that a gauntlet had been thrown down. He and that young man (Ghetsis's son, going by his hair colour, perhaps?) were going to be enemies. Still, he just scowled at the guy and turned away, continuing to address Ghetsis. "You make this big speech about all the awful Trainers your organization's encountered and all the Pokemon you've saved, but where's your proof of any of it? How do we know you're not just lying?"

"Yeah, you know what? The kid's got a point," the same woman from before said. "Show us what you're doing."

To everyone's surprise, Ghetsis just started laughing. "Is that _all_ you wanted? Proof of what we're doing- the _good_ we're doing?" He nodded to his followers, and they stepped forward. "Show them."

Ghetsis moved back as the Plasma subordinates all removed one Poke Ball each from their belts, and opened them, releasing the Pokemon inside. The crowd gasped in horror. The Pokemon looked haggard, weak and injured; some looked barely able to stand. The Pidove to the far right was missing a ton of feathers on one of its wings, the Timburr next to it had huge chunks taken out of the squared log its species always carried and was leaning on it for support, the Tympole on the far left was wheezing like a broken accordion, and on, and on, and on.

" _Now_ do you all see what I mean?" Ghetsis said. "These Pokemon that you see before you were all liberated just over two weeks ago, but it will take many more than that to nurse them back to proper health. _This_ is why I say you must release your Pokemon, to break this tragic cycle, and abstain from catching any more Pokemon at all." He nodded to the underlings, and they recalled the injured Pokemon back to their Poke Balls. "Everyone, I urge you to consider my words today. We of Team Plasma sincerely thank you for your time."

With those final words, two of the Plasma underlings picked up the flags from where they had been planted carrying them, while the rest gathered around Ghetsis in a sort of defensive formation, and they walked down the hill, the flag-bearers bringing up the rear. The crowd kept up their stunned silence for another few seconds, then one man took a Poke Ball off his belt, and clicked the central button on it four times, activating the self-destruction mechanism for the internal capture matrix, releasing the Pokemon inside and rendering the Ball itself useless.

"Go on," he said to his Pokemon, "You should go. I'm… I'm sorry for everything." The Pokemon, a Petilil, looked up at him with sad eyes, as if saying, "Why?"

"Just _go!"_ the man shouted, tears in his eyes, his voice breaking. The Petilil, seeming heartbroken, nonetheless floated away off into the distance.

This, to Hilbert and Cheren's shock, started a wave of people releasing their Pokemon, with nearly half the crowd doing so. Throughout it all, the green-haired young man remained eerily still, like a statue, a blank expression on his face.

There were many tears shed over the next two minutes as people forced their Pokemon to abandon them, Hilbert and Cheren looking on helplessly. Finally, the crowd began to disperse, going back down the hill, some still crying a little. Only Hilbert, Cheren, and the young man remained now.

Cheren spoke first, breaking the deathly silence. "What was that?" He whirled on Hilbert, grabbing him by his jacket collar. "What the hell did you do!?"

"Wha- _me!?"_ Hilbert cried, pushing Cheren off. "I didn't do _anything!_ It was all that Ghetsis guy!"

"My ass it was!" Cheren yelled. "If you had listened to me and kept your mouth shut, that wouldn't have happened!"

"Oh, sure, blame me! Because _I'm_ the bad guy-" Hilbert shot back, but then stopped, seeing the green-haired guy looking right at him and Cheren. "What do you want, huh?"

"Your Pokemon…just now, it was saying…" green-hair murmured slowly under his breath, so low that neither Hilbert nor Cheren could hear him.

In spite of his weird way of greeting them, the young man actually looked normal enough. He was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt over a black undershirt, beige cargo jeans, and green sports shoes. A black-and-white baseball cap was on his head, and he had asymmetrical bracelets around both wrists, and hanging from his belt by a short chain was what looked like a golden Rubik's Cube with pieces missing. His eyes were also a striking shade of blue-grey.

"What?" Cheren asked. "Speak up, I couldn't hear you."

"I said, your Pokemon… it's talking. I heard it speaking."

"Ummm… okay," Hilbert said slowly, shooting Cheren a look that said, "Can we get away from this freak, please?"

However, Cheren, as revenge on Hilbert for not listening to him during the speech, decided to ignore his friend's silent pleaq. He walked right up to the stranger, putting his hand out in a friendly greeting. "Don't pay any attention to my friend there. His name is Hilbert, and I'm Cheren. Pleased to meet you… um, what did you say your name was?"

The stranger stared at Cheren's outstretched hand for several seconds, as if not understanding what to do, as Hilbert walked up. Finally, he looked down and to the right, seeming to let out a small, quiet exhale of breath. "My name is N," he muttered.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"...Alright," Cheren said, awkwardly retracting his arm.

"What kind of a name is N- _oofph!"_ Hilbert started, but then was cut off as Cheren again drove his elbow harshly into his side, just like he had done in Juniper's lab. "What the hell was that for!?"

"What is _wrong_ with you today, man?" Cheren hissed. "It's like you left your manners at home!" He turned back to N and gave a cheesy 'excuse-my-friend' kind of smile. "Anyway, what was that you were talking about? Our Pokemon speaking to us or something?"

"Oh… you can't hear them, then. How tragic," N said. "They have such interesting things to say…"

Hilbert had had more than enough, thinking it prudent to get away- far away- from the psycho. "Well, I think this has been a nice talk, but it's getting late, and I need to get back to the Pokemon Center. Long day tomorrow, journey to Striaton and all that! See ya!"

He quickly began walking down the hill, but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard N say, "So, you're just going to ignore the words of your Oshawott? Of your Lillipup?"

In shock, Hilbert slowly turned around. "How the hell do you know that? Were you… were you fucking spying on us while we were on Route 1!?"

"No," N said, shaking his head. "I merely listened to the voices of your Pokemon inside those… _things_ called Poke Balls you imprison them in."

"But… you have a Poke Ball, too," Cheren said.

"Yes, but I'm not like most Trainers," N said. " _I_ merely capture Pokemon for protection on Routes, and I always let them go free afterwards, rather than keeping them as my prisoners and tools forever. Poke Balls… they're just instruments of suffering. And the fact that you both have starters tells me you might also have Pokedexes. You're going to confine many, _many_ Pokemon inside Poke Balls for the sake of completing that awful device, aren't you?" N's eyes suddenly turned hard. "That I _cannot_ allow. I think I'll defeat you first, Hilbert, since you've already captured a Pokemon. Purrloin, go!"

Taking the Poke Ball off his belt, N threw out his only Pokemon. Purrloin was a feline-like Dark-type creature with mostly purple fur, though its back, neck, and upper forelimbs were cream. Its eyes were a piercing emerald, with tapered pink markings above them. Its ears were sharply pointed, and there was a sickle-like shape on the tip of its tail.

 _Well, looks like my intuition was right,_ Hilbert thought. _Me and him really_ are _gonna be enemies. Either way, first Trainer battle._ He _was_ tempted to send out his Lillipup, but he had a feeling the Purrloin was at a higher level than what Logan could currently take on and win. Making a mental note to train up on the next Route, he decided on his only other option. "Go, Maru!" He threw out his starter's Poke Ball, and the Sea Otter Pokemon materialized in front of him.

Purrloin opened its mouth and let out a threatening Growl attack, the move seeming to freeze Maru in place. Popping its claws, the Purrloin raced towards the enemy Oshawott in a zigzag pattern, raking its claws across his face with Scratch. Oshawott cried out in pain and staggered back.

"Maru!" Hilbert yelled. "Quick, after it! Tackle!"

Oshawott ran forward, putting its weight into its shoulder, but Purrloin, using its far superior speed, twirled out of the way on one foot like a ballerina, slapping its opponent in the back as Oshawott went past, causing him to stumble and fall on his face. Oshawott rolled onto his back just in time to see Purrloin leaping for him. With a cry of alarm, he unleashed the move he had just learned that day, spraying a Water Gun from his mouth. The high-pressure stream of water slammed right into the Purrloin, sending it flying back a fair ways. The Purrloin hissed angrily as it got up, shaking itself dry.

"Alright, Maru!" Hilbert said. "Nice one!" _Well, that seemed to do the trick. I've got a range advantage, he doesn't. Might as well leverage it._ "Keep using Water Gun!"

As Maru shot Water Gun after Water Gun at Purrloin, the Devious Pokemon doing its best to dodge the streams while making ground towards Oshawott at the same time, Hilbert looked at N. He had remained ghostly quiet this whole time, but was clearly not happy. Cheren was standing off to the side, entranced by the battle. In his head, though, he was thinking how impressed he was with Purrloin's speed and agility. Truth be told, he wanted a Dark-type as his first team member, and the one he had decided on was Sandile, but… _A Purrloin wouldn't be too bad of a choice, it seems. Maybe only as a temporary team member, but it could work._

This lapse in concentration would cost Hilbert, as it meant that Purrloin had exploited a gap in Maru's Water Gun attacks, and was able to land another hit on him. Hilbert was only alerted to this when he heard Oshawott again cry out in pain. This time, Purrloin had pounced on his starter, and was using repeated Scratch attacks to wear him down.

"Maru, no!" Hilbert cried.

Just when it seemed like Oshawott was finished, he caught the Purrloin's paw inches from his face, preventing it from landing the final blow. He then let out another point-blank Water Gun, blasting away his opponent. Purrloin landed hard, both Pokemon getting unsteadily to their feet, both one hit away from being knocked out.

 _Now_ Hilbert was angry. "Alright, let's kick this guy's ass," he growled. "Water Gun, one more time!"

Oshawott opened its mouth, and sent another Water Gun straight at Purrloin. The opposing Pokemon was too weak to dodge, and raised its forelimbs in an attempt to protect itself- in vain. The attack slammed into it, sending it tumbling away, rolling end over end, knocked out.

Hilbert's anger then faded, replaced with exhilaration. He grinned, running up to his starter and picking it up in his arms. "We did it, Maru!" he yelled. "We won our first Trainer battle!" Oshawott threw its arms up in the air and cried out in joy.

N, who was recalling his Purrloin to its Poke Ball, gasped. "I… never expected to hear a Pokemon say that…" he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Hilbert asked, having not heard him.

"N-nothing," N replied, turning to him. He walked up to Hilbert, pulling out his Trainer Card and tapping it against Hilbert's to transfer a small amount of prize money to him. "Either way, you did win, but don't get too comfortable. We _will_ meet again someday, and that's when I'll teach you that my view is the correct one. I believe in what Ghetsis- what Team Plasma- says. As long as Pokemon are confined in Poke Balls… they can never be happy, perfect beings. Speaking of which…"

N reached into his back pocket and pulled a Potion, a spray-type wound medicine for Pokemon. He pressed the nozzle to the Poke Ball's central button, and emptied the contents of the purple plastic bottle into the Ball, healing his Purrloin. He then clicked said central button four times, releasing the Dark-type.

"Go on, friend," N said in a gentle tone. "Go back to the wild. You're free now, you're no longer a slave."

The Purrloin gave him a brief look of sadness, but in the end sauntered off towards the town.

"Why'd you do that?" Cheren said, but N didn't reply, and just walked off the hill.

"Weird guy," Hilbert said, blinking.

"I hate to say it, but yeah, you're right," Cheren replied.

"Think he's part of Team Plasma? He looks related to that Ghetsis guy… maybe his son or a nephew."

"Hilbert, at this point, I don't know what to think. It's getting late, and I've had more than enough weirdness for one day. Let's just head back to the Pokemon Center and turn in. Bianca's probably long since booked our rooms for the night."

Hilbert nodded, and together, they left the hill.

That night, Hilbert lay awake in his bed, thinking about the day's events. He was unable to get N's words of, "We _will_ meet again someday, and that's when I'll teach you my view is the correct one," out of his head. Much as he tried to tell himself otherwise, he had a feeling N was doing more than making idle threats.

He sighed. _Well, then I'm just gonna have to be ready for you, you weirdo. Even though I hope that that 'someday' never comes._ He then closed his eyes, somehow managing to fall into a dreamless sleep.

**_**Four days earlier…** _ **

Cress sighed as he examined one of the large claw marks in the wall, a huge, jagged tear. And it was only one of many. The Gym's battleground had been completely trashed, with even the glass health bar screen cracked and non-functional. _This is all that stupid challenger's fault,_ he thought, turning away in disgust. The challenger in question, a young man of about nineteen named Dylan, had come to Striaton to collect his eighth and final Gym Badge. With Dylan having chosen Snivy- now a Serperior- as his starter, he had battled Chili, Cress's twin brother, for the Trio Badge.

Unfortunately for Chili, Dylan had not sent out his Serperior at first, but rather, the monstrously powerful Ground/Steel-type called Excadrill. In the end, Chili _had_ won (by the skin of his teeth, though he would never admit it) but the victory had been Pyrrhic. As a result of the battle, the Gym's battle arena needed to undergo extensive repairs, which would take days, and force the Gym to close its doors until such repairs could be completed.

"Chili?" he called for the fifth time that day, "When will the repair crew be here?"

"Oh, about five minutes after ya _quit asking me that!"_ Chili yelled back. "Seriously, Cress, cool your jets, they'll be here as soon as they can." The red-haired Striaton triplet walked into the room, their other brother, Cilan, out on business.

 _Ironic that a Fire-type user would tell me to cool off,_ Cress thought, but kept his mouth shut.

"I hate this situation as much as you do, but what's done is done. Although, at times like these, I can't help but envy those Elite Four pricks…"

What Chili was referring to were the specially designed and technologically advanced rooms the Elite Four of Unova conducted their battles in, capable of self-repairing any damage short of a bomb blast in seconds.

"I know what you mean, but you know that Elite Four battles are sacred in this region. Their rooms can't afford to be out of commission-"

"Leaving us Gym Leaders with the table scraps, yep, such is life."

"So, what do we do in the meantime?"

"We be patient, and we pray that no other challengers come knockin'. 'Cause if they do, I'm sure they're gonna be pretty pissed that they need to wait."


	7. Chapter 5: Route 2

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 5: Route 2**

It was the ringing of Hilbert’s watch that woke him up. He sat up in bed, the covers falling away from his bare chest, stretching and yawning. He got out of bed, walking over to his watch, which he had set on the floor next to his bag and most of his clothing, snuffing the alarm. 

_9:30,_ he thought, looking at the display. _Perfect timing._ He picked up his shirt and jacket and gave them a quick sniff, finding they didn’t smell too terribly bad, but the same couldn’t be said of his armpits. His nose turned up at the stench given off by his own body. “Ugh, the joys of being a teenager,” he grumbled sarcastically under his breath, “Gonna have to buy some deodorant.” 

He got dressed and left the room the Pokemon Center had supplied him with, going out into the hall to try and wake up Cheren and Bianca. The rooms in the Pokemon Center were very spartan in the way of furnishings, featuring a bed, a small adjoining bathroom and little else, being a far cry from the large master bedroom in his home. Then again, Pokemon Centers weren’t meant to be five-star hotels, merely rest stops of sorts for Trainers to buy supplies and stay the night, then move on. 

He walked across the hall and knocked on the door to Cheren’s room with his knuckles. “Cheren?” he called. “You up? We gotta get moving! I wanna get to Striaton before at least five!” 

He heard a muffled groan from behind the door. Cheren, evidently, was not awake. “Well, I’m up now!” Cheren said. “Go get Bianca! I’ll be out in a minute.” 

Rolling his eyes, Hilbert repeated the process with the door to Bianca’s room, and much to his frustration, got exactly the same response. Growling, he went downstairs to buy whatever things he would need for the trek to Striaton, and then wait for his friends. 

He purchased an LMT from the selection of PTMRE’s on offer from the store, as well as a stick of deodorant, and had just finished slathering it on in the lounge area when Cheren and Bianca came downstairs, chatting amongst themselves. 

“So what’s the plan?” Hilbert said as they came up to him. “‘Cause I think we should take on this Route together, then split up once we hit Striaton. We’ll cover more ground that way.” 

“I think that sounds good,” Bianca said.

“Yeah, but we haven’t even gotten food yet, Hilbert,” Cheren said. “Just give us some time to buy what we need, and then we’ll get a move on. But now that you mention splitting up, there’s a school for Trainers in Striaton I want to check out.” 

It was then that Hilbert’s Cross-Transceiver began to ring. “What the hell? Who could be calling me this early?” Hilbert wondered aloud. 

“It’s probably Professor Juniper,” Bianca said. “Answer it. Maybe we forget something or whatever.” 

Hilbert pressed the ‘Accept Call’ button, and an unexpected face appeared on the device’s screen: his mother. She appeared to be jogging, and was breathing a bit heavily. “Mom? What’s going on?” 

“Hilbert!” Julia said. “Good to see you! Listen, where are you?” 

“Uh, still in the Pokemon Center,” Hilbert said with a confused look. “Why do you need to know?” 

“Oh, thank Arceus, I haven’t missed you then yet!” Julia noticeably slowed her pace to a brisk walk. It was hard to tell from just the small Cross-Transceiver screen alone, but it looked like she was just entering Accumula Town. “Listen, come outside! I have something for you!” Before Hilbert could ask what she meant, she ended the call. 

Hilbert looked up at Cheren and Bianca as if they knew what was going on. Cheren just gave a small shrug, and Bianca said, “Well, this seems like the perfect opportunity for me and Cheren to buy our stuff. Go see what your mom wants, Hilbert.” 

“Alright, I guess I’ll meet you guys outside.” 

Hilbert then left through the automatic sliding glass doors of the Pokemon Center into the early morning air. Few people were out and about, with most businesses still not having opened up shop for the day. 

“Hilbert!” he heard his mother’s voice call. Looking ahead, he saw that she was about fifty feet away from him, and walking closer. He jogged up to her, and they met in the middle. 

“What… what is it… Mom?” Hilbert asked, breathless from even that short run. He noticed that she was carrying a small black box under one arm. 

Ignoring his question, Julia just laughed slightly and shook her head. “I see you’re still as out of shape as ever. Honestly, it’s a good thing I got here before you went too far. Arceus knows how you’d get on without what I have here.” She thrust the box into Hilbert’s hands. “Open it!” 

Hilbert did as he was told, revealing the contents of the box to be a pair of high-top style sneakers, still in their wrapping paper. It looked like the box had never been opened, yet the lid was oddly dusty, indicating his mother must have bought these shoes years ago. Without needing to be told to do so, he slipped off his old black shoes, and laced up this new pair. They felt fantastic to wear, and their fire-engine red colour complimented his black jeans and blue jacket better than his old shoes ever did. It almost felt like he was _meant_ to wear them. 

“Do you like them?” Julia asked. 

“They’re great!” Hilbert answered, nodding. 

“Now, I want you to do me a favour. Run to the Pokemon Center doors and back to me and see how tired you feel. Make sure to rock back on your heels before taking off.” 

“O… kay,” Hilbert said, perplexed by his mother’s strange request, but doing as he was told. He rocked back on his heels, and much to his surprise, almost to the point of falling on his face, was off like a shot, faster than he ever had. He was vaguely aware of a quiet _puff, puff, puff_ noise coming from the back of his heels, but couldn’t focus on that, instead having to focus on stopping before he slammed into the Pokemon Center’s doors. He only just did so, skidding to a halt in a wide-legged stance. Without missing a beat, he turned around, rocked back on his heels, and ran back to his mother, coming to a stop in front of her. 

His brain going a million miles a minute, all the questions Hilbert had at that moment trampled each other in their rush to be asked. “Wha… how… just- just… why..?” 

“Well?” Julia was smiling ear-to-ear. “Do you like them?” 

“Do I… do I _like_ them?” Hilbert stammered. “Hell yes! That was _incredible!_ ” He began pacing back and forth, raving breathlessly about the shoes. “I mean, I just went so fast and I’m not sure how but I did and I… don’t… feel… tired.” He stopped, looking at his mother. “Wait… why am I not out of breath right now?” 

Julia’s smile didn’t fade. “It’s the shoes, honey! There’s a small air bladder in their heels that fills up when you take a step and gets forced out through little holes, and that propels you forward. If I remember, it was called ‘B-Button technology’ or something like that. Rocking back on your heels is what activates it, gives you that first push. They’re also designed to take the strain off the wearer’s leg muscles, so you can run for miles!” 

“These’ll be perfect for my journey! Hell, I might’ve been screwed without these. Thank you!” He gave his mother a tight hug, which she returned. 

“Just take care of them, sweetheart. I found those when I was cleaning your room. I think they were supposed to be a gift for… your father, before he, well...” she trailed off sadly. 

Hilbert broke out of the embrace, giving her a firm, determined look. “Don’t worry,” he said, that same determination carrying over to his voice. “I will.” 

“Hilbert!” Cheren’s voice suddenly called. “We’re done! Let’s get going!” He and Bianca had exited the Pokemon Center, waving at him. 

Julia gave her son one last hug. “Well, far be it from me to keep you waiting. Go on.” 

Hilbert nodded, and his mother began to walk back to Nuvema Town. She looked over her shoulder at Hilbert for a second with pride. _Your little boy is growing up, Julia,_ she thought. _He’s going to be a powerful Trainer. I can feel it._

“So, what was your calling mom you for and- wow, those are nice shoes!” Bianca said. “Where’d you get them?” 

“What do you think my mom was calling me?” Hilbert said. “It was to give me these. Let’s just say my days of having awful stamina are over.” 

“Well good for you,” Cheren said flatly. “Now let’s get going.” 

Their walk through Accumula Town proved uneventful, Hilbert inevitably taking the lead by a few paces thanks to his new shoes. _I love these things already,_ he thought to himself with a cheeky grin. They went north until the wall of apartment buildings halted their progress, so they took a sharp turn west, towards the town’s entry/exit gate. These gates were present in nearly every region, from Kanto to Kalos, with the only exception being Hoenn, which had none. 

The purpose of these gates, at least in other regions, were to serve as safety checkpoints between Routes and cities in case the wild Pokemon got a bit too rowdy, but in Unova they served more as informational stops for tourists, with each one having an electronic bulletin board that scrolled various messages and text advertisements across them in a loop. The message currently being displayed said, _**Striaton Gym is a restaurant where meals- and battles- are served!**_

They emerged out of the gate and onto Route 2. Route 2 was actually quite deceptive in its appearance. The short, northwest-leading section of less than half a kilometre (approximately 0.310686 miles) lead to a dead end filled with tall grass if one kept going in that direction, but the path made a sharp turn to the northeast, and that went right to Striaton. This path was just over 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) long, so it was quite a trek. Long grass grew in abundance on this Route, going through it was unavoidable, and where tall grass grew, Trainers went, eager to catch Pokemon and battle them. Of course, the road for cars that ran parallel to the Route avoided all this, but going on them with anything other than an automobile was strictly prohibited by law. 

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m gonna go catch my first Pokemon for my team,” Cheren said, pointing to the dead end filled with tall grass. Already, they could all see the blurry brown outlines of Patrat and Lillipup running around in the natural carpet. “If you wanna go on, be my guest, but I’d train up there first if I were you.” 

“Yeah, that reminds me, I need to give Logan here a few levels,” Hilbert said, taking his Lillipup’s Poke Ball off his belt. “Bianca? You coming or not?” 

“Actually… now that you mention it, that wouldn’t be too bad of an idea,” Bianca said. “Yeah! Count me in!” 

They all went down to the small field, Hilbert throwing out Logan at the nearest Patrat, Bianca doing the same, pitting Pepper against a rival Lillipup. Cheren, meanwhile, fought off whatever came his way while on the lookout for a Purrloin. 

“Logan, Tackle that Patrat!” Hilbert yelled, his Puppy Pokemon obeying and ramming into its rodent-like opponent. The Patrat hissed at Logan after it recovered from the blow, running towards him with a Tackle of its own, only to be stopped in its tracks by a Leer on Hilbert’s command. Another Tackle and it was over. Looking over at Bianca, he saw she had finished her battle as well.

It took forty-five minutes, but finally, they had brought brought both their Lillipup up to level 8, where they had learned the Dark-type move Bite, their Pokedexes letting out a microwave-esque _ding!_ sound each time their Pokemon increased in level. With 60 base power, it would come in handy. At level 5, they had also learned the rather useless Odor Sleuth, which both Hilbert and Bianca resolved to get rid of as soon as possible. Cheren managed to catch his Purrloin (nicknamed Interloper), and surprisingly, Hilbert had found a nearly-full Potion bottle laying in the grass, and kept it. He wasn’t one to pick up random trash (even though littering too much on Routes was illegal) but this was basically a free Potion, something he was not about to pass up. On top of all that, Hilbert had managed to bring Maru up to level 8. The same was true of Bianca’s Tepig. 

Now done with their training session and ready to move on, they retraced their steps almost back to the gate, and took the northeast path this time. Although longer than Route 1, Route 2 was much less wide, at only about 100 meters, thereby necessitating walking through the tall grass, and they soon came across some. This patch was unavoidably wide and a good 30 meters long, but worse than that, there was someone in the grass, looking around- another Trainer. 

_Oh no,_ Hilbert thought as the Trainer, a boy in a white tank top with blue shorts that couldn’t have been more than twelve, ran up to them, having spotted them. 

“Hey, you three!” he yelled. “Are any of you Trainers? If so, I wanna battle you!” 

Hilbert raised a brow, seeing just a single Poke Ball on the boy’s belt. “You want to take on all of us at once?” 

“Not _all of you,_ you idiot!” the boy said. “Just one of you!” 

Hilbert visibly grit his teeth, growling lowly under his breath. He was just about to punch the guy in the face when Bianca spoke up. “Well… I guess I’ll take you on. I haven’t fought another Trainer yet, so I need to find out what it’s like.” 

“Alright, it’s settled then!” the boy exclaimed. “My name’s Jimmy, by the way.” 

“I’m Bianca. Nice to meet you.” 

Jimmy backed up to give his Pokemon more room to fight, with Cheren and Hilbert moving off to the side. “ _Kick his ass,”_ Hilbert whispered discreetly in Bianca’s ear before he did so. “ _And try to make this quick.”_

“Go, Patrat!” Jimmy yelled, tossing out his sole Poke Ball. Bianca responded by tossing out her Lillipup, Pepper, and the battle began. 

Patrat bared its fangs and ran towards Pepper, but Bianca stopped that by shouting, “Pepper, use Leer, then Tackle it!” 

The Lillipup’s eyes glowed a furious red for a second, freezing the Patrat in its tracks, She then ran at her opponent, throwing her whole weight into a Tackle, sending the Patrat flying back a ways, where it landed with a _THUD._

Just as the Scout Pokemon was getting up, Pepper revealed her own teeth- four surprisingly sharp fangs, with two on the upper jaw and two on the lower jaw- and ran right for the enemy Patrat. It couldn’t recover or dodge in time, and Pepper’s fangs clamped down on its arm, causing it to cry out in pain. Lillipup then ran forward, tripping up the Patrat and causing it to fall on its back. Pepper then chomped down on the Patrat’s _face,_ knocking it out in a heartbeat. 

Jimmy was speechless for a second, the emotions on his face going from anger to shock to disappointment in a matter of seconds. However, disappointment was the expression that stuck. “Aw, man…” he grumbled. “I didn’t get to land a single attack…” 

Wearing the same despondent expression, he returned his Patrat to its Poke Ball as Bianca did the same to her Lillipup. He then walked up to her, tapping his Trainer Card against hers to transfer the prize money over. “Good fight I guess,” he said, unable to look Bianca in the eye.

“Hey,” Bianca said, placing her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You tried. Take this from someone who knows: one defeat isn’t a reason to throw in the towel, especially if this was your first Trainer battle.” 

Jimmy raised his eyes to meet hers. “Well… fair enough.” They shook hands as Hilbert and Cheren came over and Jimmy went on his way, heading back to Accumula to get his Pokemon healed. 

“That was really well done, Bianca! Nice going!” Cheren said. 

“And it didn’t take a million years,” Hilbert added. “Well done.” 

“Thanks, guys,” Bianca giggled. “Well, shall we go on?”

They kept going on their way, the terrain slanting upward into a gentle hill covered in tall grass. Bianca wished she could catch a glimpse of Striaton’s tall apartment buildings from where they were, just to have something to look at besides the endless green trees that hemmed them in on either side, but alas, the hill was too short, and due to the curvature of the Route, seeing Striaton was impossible from where they were. They were harassed by a few wild Pokemon, and they fought them off, their own Pokemon luckily taking no damage in the process. 

The top of the hill was entirely bare of tall grass, and just as they reached the top, Hilbert’s stomach began growling. Checking his watch, he saw that it was nearly eleven o’clock. “I think it’s time for brunch,” he said. “Let’s stop here and eat.” 

They sat down on the grass, all taking their LMT’s out of their respective bags and opening them using the tear notches. Having never seen the components of one of these before, with even Cheren being in the dark, they expected nothing more than nutrient paste that the company had tried to make as appetizing as possible. They were dead wrong. 

Inside main bag, there were several smaller pouches labeled with what was in them, as well as two clear plastic beverage bags and a fruit bar that could be found in a grocery store. One pouch had trail mix made up of dark chocolate, small dried Razz Berry chunks that were also covered in dark chocolate, and various other berry chunks, like Sitrus and Mago, with a few almonds mixed in. Another pouch held a powder for an electrolyte-rich Sitrus Berry-flavoured sports drink. All one had to do to make it was pour it into one of the beverage bags, add water up to the fill line, and shake. 

The last two pouches were saved for a powder for a vanilla MooMoo-milkshake meal replacement, and a small-but-reasonable amount of beef jerky. Meat all around the world was synthetic and lab-grown, but tasted identical to the real thing. All told, it was 1,000 calories worth of food, just what they needed to satisfy their hunger, quench their thirst, and keep them going. 

Hilbert dug into the trail mix first after making the shake and sports drink. The chocolate had a slightly waxy texture in his mouth, but he figured that was to keep it from melting. Cheren, on the other hand, went right for the milkshake, taking a swig of it. It was rich, creamy, and tasted incredible. In fact, he couldn’t stop drinking it once he started, and what _was_ meant to be a swig turned into him downing the whole thing in ten seconds! 

“Oh, man, you guys gotta try this!” he exclaimed. “It’s awesome!” 

Hilbert and Bianca glanced at each other, then grabbed their own milkshakes and drank them just as fast. “Holy crap, you’re right!” Hilbert said. He licked the milk moustache the shake had left off his upper lip, just to get one last taste of the flavour, Bianca doing the same. 

Less than ten minutes later, the meals were finished, and with bellies full, they continued on down the hill. The trash from the PTMRE’s was stashed in the main pouch and put away in their bags. About fifteen years ago, due to an outbreak of Pokemon called Trubbish and Garbodor in Castelia City that caused major damage to many buildings, the Unovan government drafted new laws to try and cut down on trash, which attracted Trubbish and Garbodor. 

In any case, at the bottom of the hill, they saw another Trainer. This time, it was a girl in a bland beige shirt and skirt with shin-high socks and brown hair. She had her Pokemon, a Purrloin, out battling a Patrat. She defeated it with little effort, then returned her Pokemon back to its Poke Ball just as the Nuvema Town trio came down the hill. 

“Hey! Hey, you three!” the girl said, running up to them when she saw them. “Hold up! I wanna battle one of you!” 

Hilbert opened his mouth to volunteer, but was cut off by Cheren saying, “My time to shine, I guess,” and stepping forward. “What’s your name? Mine’s Cheren.” 

“I’m Mali!” the girl said, jabbing a thumb at herself rather flamboyantly. “Nice to meet’cha!” 

While Hilbert seethed at having this chance at some potential experience for his Pokemon snatched away from him, Mali literally jumped for joy. “Alright! My first real Trainer battle! This should be a cinch! My Purrloin’s cuteness can overcome anything!” 

She backed up, Cheren having to go back up the hill slightly to give himself enough room, though he quickly realized this was a good thing. _No matter what Pokemon I send out, I’ll have the high ground advantage. She’ll have to expend more energy getting to me than I will going to her._ He smirked. _This battle’s as good as won._

“Go, Purrloin!” Mali yelled, throwing out the the purple feline-like Pokemon. Cheren decided to make this a Purrloin-on-Purrloin fight, so threw out his own Devious Pokemon, Interceptor. 

“Purrloin, go for Scratch!” Mali yelled. 

“Interceptor, Scratch too!” Cheren commanded. 

Cheren’s theory was proven correct, as Interceptor ran down the hill _much_ faster than the enemy Purrloin was able to run up it, and so he got in the first attack, sending Mali’s Pokemon tumbling back about five feet. The enemy Purrloin quickly recovered, and used Growl, freezing Interceptor in place _just_ long enough to get a Scratch in, raking its claws across his face. It wasn’t done yet, though. It got in another Scratch, and another, whittling its opponent down.

“Damn!” Cheren cried. “Interceptor, Growl!” 

Interceptor let out a desperate-sounding cry, stopping its opponent from landing the final blow. It then used Scratch again and again without mercy, not giving the other Purrloin any time to hit back. However, this random flailing worked, knocking out Mali’s Purrloin. 

Cheren sighed in relief. _Okay… that was harder than I thought it would be,_ he thought.

“No!” Mali cried, clearly distraught and not having expected to lose. “B-but… my Purrloin’s cuteness… it was supposed to beat everything…” She returned her Purrloin to its Poke Ball, then reluctantly tapped Trainer Cards with Cheren. She then began the long walk back to Accumula Town to have her Pokemon healed. 

_That’a a walk of shame if I ever saw one,_ Hilbert thought with more than a hint of snark to his mental tone of voice. 

“Way to go, Cheren!” Bianca exclaimed. “I thought your Purrloin would go down there for a second, but you turned it around!” 

“Thanks,” Cheren said, rubbing the back of his neck. “To tell the truth, _I_ thought he would go down, too. Not even sure how I won, really… And now he needs healing. Hilbert, you picked up that Potion, right? Give it here.”

“What? Hell no!” Hilbert said. “Finders keepers, Cheren, I’m saving this for when _I_ need it.” 

“And if you don’t give it here, my Purrloin’s gonna faint if it takes one more attack from even a wild Pokemon.” 

Well, maybe you should have thought about that before taking on that girl. I was about to fight her, then you butted in.” 

Cheren grit his teeth. “Hilbert…” he said, lowly, dangerously. 

Bianca was watching this whole exchange with terrified eyes, not daring to speak, and feeling helpless to do anything. 

“Too. Effing. Bad,” Hilbert said firmly. “I found the Potion, and you didn’t. Now drop the subject and let’s get moving. Just use your Snivy to fight any wild battles until we get to Striaton. I don’t see what the big deal is here.” 

Cheren, though his blood was still boiling, managed to swallow his pride and let out a obviously-forced, “Fine. Let’s get going.” 

Bianca breathed a quiet sigh of relief and gave a small thanks to Arceus that the situation hadn’t escalated. 

Thankfully, the rest of the trip proved uneventful, with the most noteworthy thing that happened being a huge flock of Pidove flying overhead, blocking out the sun for a second and creating quite a spectacle. “Oh, cool!” Bianca said. “I wonder where they’re going..?” 

“Who cares?” Cheren replied glumly. “Let’s keep moving.” 

At long last, after fifty more tedious minutes of walking, Striaton was in sight on the horizon, about a mile away. Unfortunately, much to Hilbert’s chagrin, they ran into one last Trainer. He wore blue jeans and a white T-shirt, with a black baseball cap on his head, worn backwards. He introduced himself as Roland, and Hilbert quickly accepted his challenge. 

The fight was brief, with Hilbert using his Oshawott to knock out Roland’s sole Pokemon, a Lillipup. Thanks to Oshawott’s Water Gun, Roland’s Lillipup couldn’t even get close. Cheren and Bianca almost felt sorry for the boy, his attempts to fight back were so pitiful. Hilbert won without his Oshawott taking a single hit. 

In disappointment, Roland paid Hilbert his prize money, and went on his way. The Nuvema Town trio then kept going, and were within half a mile of Striaton, when Bianca stopped and spoke up. 

“Um… Hilbert, if it’s not too much to ask, can you and I have a battle? I’ve just got this… this craving for another one.” 

Hilbert and Cheren, too, stopped in their tracks, and Hilbert let out an exasperated sigh. “Bianca, come on!” he cried. “We’re almost there! Can’t this wait?” 

“Actually, no it can’t, Hilbert,” Cheren cut in. “Pokemon League rules state that a challenge to battle from one Trainer to another can’t be declined, unless one of the Trainers has no Pokemon in fighting condition.” He smirked. “And last I checked, yours and Bianca’s teams were both unscathed.” 

“Son of a _bitch!”_ Hilbert hissed under his breath through gritted teeth. 

“However,” Cheren continued, "You should both know that unlike the battle in Hilbert’s room, this _will_ be an official match, and the loser has to give the winner a sum of prize money. Are you both okay with that?” 

Both Hilbert and Bianca nodded, though Hilbert’s was notably more reluctant. They both moved back to give their Pokemon space to fight. 

“Go, Pepper!” Bianca yelled, throwing out her Lillipup. 

“Maru, get out there!” Hilbert said, tossing his starter’s Poke Ball into action. 

“Pepper, go for Bite!” Bianca commanded. 

Pepper bared her fangs, growling, and raced full-tilt for Maru. Maru immediately responded with a Water Gun, only to watch as Pepper jumped out of the way, and continued on its course, clamping its jaws down on the Oshawott’s nose. Maru let out a high-pitched squeal of pain, shaking its head back and forth, but Pepper refused to let go. 

“Maru, use Water Gun! Point blank! Just our battle with N!” Hilbert yelled. 

_That_ threw Bianca for a loop. _Hilbert battled a letter from the alphabet? How does that work?_ she thought. Confused, she didn’t notice until it was too late that Maru was opening its mouth for a Water Gun. He blasted Pepper straight in the face, blowing her completely off of him. Maru didn’t let up there, though. Before Pepper could even recover, he hit her with another Water Gun, sending her further backwards. 

“Pepper, use Leer and then Tackle! Go!” Bianca yelled. Tackle wasn’t as powerful as Bite, but she was hoping she could combo Tackle into another Bite to hopefully knock Maru out. 

Pepper’s eyes glowed bright red for a second, freezing Maru in place. She then ran right for him, trajectory straight as an arrow. Maru couldn’t get free of Leer’s effects in time, and was rammed by Pepper, sending him flying back. 

“Bite, now! Finish him off!” Bianca yelled. Pepper once more bared her fangs and raced towards Maru.

Maru, who had landed right next to Hilbert raised his head out of the grass. Having learned from his mistake last time of launching Water Gun too early, he waited until the last possible second, then let loose. Pepper was hit full-on by the high-pressure stream of water, being knocked back. Maru then pushed himself to his feet, and hit Pepper with a Tackle using all the force he could muster. This proved to be the knockout blow to the Lillipup, sending her tumbling away, her eyes shut in pain. Hilbert’s Pokedex dinged to let him know that Maru increased a level 

“Oh no! Pepper!” Bianca cried out, quickly recalling her Lillipup to its Ball. She then grabbed her Tepig’s Poke Ball, and threw it out. _Oh… this… this isn’t good,_ she thought, knowing she was at a severe disadvantage. She stood there, unsure of what to do, for so long that Hilbert took the opportunity to attack. 

“Maru, Water Gun!” he yelled. Maru shot a high-pressure stream of water at Tepig, who was drenched and squealed in agony. 

“It’s super effective!” Cheren yelled. “Bianca, you better do something if you don’t wanna lose this!” 

Bianca shook her head, like she was breaking out of a trance, and said, shakily, “T-Taroko, Ember!” 

Tepig shot small balls of flame out its nostrils, but they traveled far too slow to hit Maru. He dodged them with no effort just by sidestepping. The fires smouldered in the grass and quickly died. 

“Alright, Maru, one more Water Gun! Let’s finish strong!” Hilbert yelled. Maru didn’t need to be told twice, blasting Tepig with one more water stream, knocking Tepig out. 

“Oh, no! I lost!” Bianca wailed. “Taroko, come back!” She recalled her starter to its Poke Ball as fast as she could, Hilbert doing the same. 

“Well, that was a fine waste of time,” he said, walking up to Bianca and pulling out his Trainer Card. “What were you hoping to gain from that?” 

“I-I thought I could win…” Bianca whimpered. She reluctantly pulled out her own Trainer Card and tapped it against Hilbert’s, giving him his prize money. 

“But you didn’t, and all you did was delay us all,” Hilbert shot back, pulling out the Potion and using it to heal Maru. 

“Hey! I need that to heal my Pokemon!” Bianca cried. 

“Oh, for the love of Arceus, we’re less than half a mile away from Striaton. You can heal your Pokemon there,” Hilbert snapped. “Now let’s _go._ I don’t want any more delays.” Without another word, he rocked back on his heels and ran for the city, becoming a blur in the distance in no time. 

Cheren walked up to Bianca. “Seriously, Bianca, what happened there? You just… froze. It’s almost like you threw the battle at the end.” 

“I… I don’t know,” Bianca said. “I guess I just wasn’t used to going up against something I was weak to.” 

“You’ll have to get used that really fast, I’m afraid,” Cheren replied. According to my research, the Gym Leaders in Striaton are all about type matchups. Now come on. We’ve gotta catch up to Hilbert before he gets too far ahead.” 

They then took off, calling for Hilbert to slow down, and yet, he ignored them. 

_Bianca didn’t know what the hell she was doing,_ he thought bitterly. _The only good thing is that Maru gained a level, but even still, I’ll come back here and train if I have to before taking on the Gym._

And so, he kept running, far outpacing his friends, not stopping until he was at the city limits of Striaton.


	8. Chapter 6: Beginnings of a Rivalry

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 6: Beginnings of a Rivalry**

The first thing Hilbert did when he entered Striaton City was locate the Pokemon Center. This was easier said than done, as he entered the city on its south end, and the Center was on the north end. Even the structure’s red roof was hidden by the tall apartment buildings made of grey brick from where he was. So, he had no choice but to go exploring until he found it. 

Striaton City was far more segmented than Accumula Town, he saw as he walked. The main section of the city was basically its shopping and business hub, with clothing stores, restaurants, the ever-pointless police station, a building made of brown brick he couldn’t put a finger on the purpose of, and- “Yes, the Pokemon Center!” he said to himself, making a beeline for it, only to realize he was running a green light and nearly got hit by a car. 

“Fuckin’ moron!” the driver yelled at him, and Hilbert’s middle finger shot up at the guy in response. 

“Geez… talk about a shitty introduction to this place,” he muttered, shrugging his bag back into its proper position on his shoulder and going inside the Center. He got his Pokemon healed and topped up his water bottle in short order, then went to the store and bought another LMT, but while he was at the checkout, he remembered something. _Oh yeah… didn’t Juniper ask me to meet someone in this city? Who was it again… Funnel… Mennel… oh, wait! Fennel! That’s who it was!_ Asking the cashier if he knew where someone named ‘Fennel’ lived, the man apologized, saying he didn’t. Hilbert thanked him anyway, and left the Pokemon Center. 

This time making sure to wait for the proper traffic signal before crossing the road, he set out to search for Fennel’s place of residence. The sidewalks of Striaton were painted an odd blue-grey colour, while the streets were just plain grey. Towards the west, he could make out a small cul-de-sac suburb of fairly well-to-do houses, all of which had at least one hedge statue on the front lawn. _Fennel probably doesn’t live over there,_ he thought. _An apartment would be more realistic._ Past the big houses was the exit to the city, but that really _was_ too far away to see. So, he headed to the southeast part of the city, where a large block of apartment buildings lay. 

He passed many people going about their day, and businesses on his way there, with quite a few of them being restaurants or cafés. One in particular across the road when he was close to the apartment complexes caught his eye, though. It had two grey marble statues out front, the tops of which were carved into the same symbol on the front of his Badge Case, and the emblem of the Unova Pokemon League- a Poke Ball with a scalene triangle making up most of the Ball’s lower half. _I’d bet money that’s this city’s Gym. Better make a mental note of that thing’s location._

Shortly after, he entered into the veritable maze of apartment buildings, having no idea how he was going to find out where Fennel lived. As was their design intent, every building looked identical; same grey brick, same green trim along the roofs. _Dammit… how the hell am I gonna find the right building?_ he thought. _And I gotta find the right apartment, too. It’s a crapshoot on top of a crapshoot._

He brought his watch up to his face, taking a blind turn to the right, seeing it was nearly 2:45 in the afternoon. _Agh! I’m never gonna find her at this rate! I should probably just head to the Gym._

He lowered his arm from in front of his face, and saw he had accidentally walked into a dingy-looking alley between two apartment buildings. “Uh oh,” was all he could say. He took Oshawott’s Ball off his belt just in case, every fibre of his being telling him to run. He had seen too many movies and TV shows where bad things happened to random people in alleyways, and didn’t want to end up dead after being mugged or worse. However, he felt as though his feet were bolted to the ground. 

He got the distinct feeling he was being watched, and that feeling was confirmed when a gruff voice from behind him said, “You a Trainer?” 

“Ah!” Hilbert yelped, whirling around and taking several stumbling steps back. He clicked the button on Oshawott’s Poke Ball twice with his thumb, releasing his starter. He got a good look at the man who had startled him. He was wearing a blue pair of jeans, a white shirt with a design on it that was partly covered by the leather jacket he wore, and shin-high boots. A pair of sunglasses was hanging off the collar of his shirt, his black hair pulled back into a long ponytail. He was also tall, the top of Hilbert’s head barely reaching his throat. 

“W-what’s it to you?” Hilbert stammered, taking a few more cautious steps back and ensuring Oshawott was between him and the stranger. The man then made as though to take a step forward, but Hilbert was having none of it. “You stay _right there,_ buddy!” he yelled with as much commanding gusto as he could muster. “Maru, use Water Gun on this guy if he so much as tries to take another step!” 

“Oh, for cryin’ out loud… kids these days…” the man muttered. “Look, I’m not gonna hurt you.” 

“And why should I believe that?” Hilbert said. “Scaring people in alleys doesn’t exactly make you seem trustworthy. What are you doing here, anyway? Just waiting for someone like me to stumble in here so you can rob them blind?” 

A hurt look flashed in the man’s eyes, like he was recalling bad memories. He looked away, regret clear on his face. “To tell ya the truth, that’s the type of life I wanna get away from,” he muttered. 

“What?” Hilbert said. “I didn’t catch that.”

The man leaned against the right wall of the alley and sighed. “I said, that’s the type of life I wanna get away from, although rewind the clock a few months, and robbing you is exactly what I’d do.” 

Hilbert remained silent, not quite sure how to respond, the man apparently taking that as permission to elaborate. “I was part of the Black Empoleon gang, a real nasty bunch that often took over Tubeline Bridge, and we chased away or harassed anyone trying to cross. Until… well, we- I mean, _they-_ went too far, and they… killed someone.

“Look, I had nothing to do with it!” the man added in response to Hilbert’s flabbergasted expression. “I even protested against it, but before I could try and do anything, she was dead.” 

_Holy crap,_ Hilbert thought. “So… what have you been doing since then?” 

“Trying to turn over a new leaf, obviously,” the man replied. “As you can probably see by the way I’m in this alley, though, things… haven’t gone so well. Not gonna give up yet, but… feh, this is none of your business. I’m probably just boring you, anyway. All I’m gonna say is this: stay away from Tubeline Bridge if you don’t wanna end up like that poor woman who got murdered. And here, take this.” 

The man reached into his back pocket and pulled out a strange-looking Poke Ball with a green-and-black colour scheme, and handed it to Hilbert. 

“My lucky Dusk Ball,” he explained. “I won’t be needing it anymore. Use if it ya want. It helps catch Pokemon at night or in caves more easily.”

“Thanks, I… guess,” Hilbert said, stowing the new Ball away in his bag. “What’s your name, by the way? I never got it.” 

“It’s Sebastian,” the man said. “You?” 

“Hilbert.” 

“Pleased to meet ya.” The two of them shook hands and started to say their farewells, but Hilbert then remembered what his reason was for coming down to this part of the city was in the first place. He asked if Sebastian knew knew where anyone named Fennel lived. 

“Fennel?” Sebastian nearly spat, his eyebrows shooting upwards. “I don’t know why the hell you wanna find her, but she lives in this apartment building right here, somewhere on the third floor.” He pointed to the building on the right side of the alley with his thumb. “You can see light coming from her front window at night from all the crazy experiments she’s doing. Honestly, she’s kinda nuts, so be careful.” 

“I’ll try,” Hilbert said. “Thanks.” 

He walked out of the alley and went right, overhearing a bit of a conversation between two men as they walked by. “So I decided to let my Pokemon go,” one was saying.

“Wait, what?” the other replied. “Why the heck would you do that?” 

“Because I think Team Plasma has a point, that’s all. Maybe you should do it as well, seeing as...” Whatever was said next, Hilbert didn’t catch, as they were already out of his earshot. 

_Team Plasma was around here?_ he thought. _That isn’t good._

With that troubling thought planted firmly in his brain, he went into the building, taking the elevator up to the third floor. He walked along the hall, innocuous doors on either side of him, until he came to one that had a bright pink sign hanging on it with glittery text that read, ‘Fennel’s Dream Lab’. 

“She doesn’t exactly make it subtle, does she?” he muttered under his breath, then knocked on the door. He heard the approach of footsteps from behind the door, and a second later, it opened. A woman in a long lab coat with insanely long hair dyed a dark blue appeared in the doorway. “Yes?” she said. “And you are..?”

“I’m assuming you’re Professor Fennel?” Hilbert asked, to which he got a nod in reply. “My name is Hilbert. Professor Juniper sent-“ 

“Oh!” You’re one of the Trainers Aurea told me were coming!” Fennel cried jubilantly, cutting him off. “Come in, come in!” Not giving him a choice in the matter, she grabbed his arm and yanked him inside her apartment, Hilbert letting out his second yelp that day. 

“Aminita!” Fennel called in a sing-song voice, still dragging a bewildered Hilbert along, “We have company! Come say hello!” 

“Yes?” a young girl’s voice said, peeking her head out of a nearby bedroom to the left. Her head of brown hair was done up into twin pigtails, and she wore a lab coat with sleeves entirely too long for her. “Who is it?”

That’s _Aminita?_ Hilbert thought. _She’s so young!_

“It’s one of the Trainers that Professor Juniper told us about!” Fennel exclaimed. “Oh, we simply _must_ show him the lab! Let’s go! This waaay!” 

Hilbert was horrified to discover in the next two seconds that he was being dragged into the bedroom Aminita was in. “Uh, I don’t think I want to see your lab..!” he tried to protest, lightly hitting at Fennel’s wrist, but she had already pulled him inside. 

The room seemed ordinary, contrary to whatever nightmarish sex dungeon his mind had cooked up, with a bed facing towards the window, and nightstands on either end, but what _really_ stood out was the strange machine at the foot of the bed. It was a bizarre sort of tinted glass cylinder, with a metal base and top that had been painted a garish pinkish-purple colour, with yellow antennas sticking out of the top. It was hooked up to a big blue tower on one side (likely its power supply), and a laptop on the other. 

_Sebastian was right,_ Hilbert thought. _This lady is nuts!_

“As you can see, I study dreams!” Fennel said, finally letting go of Hilbert’s arm. “The brain’s ability to create such vivid images… it’s fascinating! I want to find out the purpose behind all those dreams, and it’s a dream of mine that keeps growing and growing! Isn’t it amazing?” 

“Uh… sure,” Hilbert said, making sure his path to the door was clear in case he needed to make a run for it. “What I want to know is… what does this have to do with me?” 

“Oh! That’s easy!” Fennel replied. “I want you to do me a favour! There’s an abandoned factory on the east outskirts of Striaton- the Dreamyard. Heard of it?” 

“Yeah, that’s the place where they film movies often, right?” Hilbert said. “I’ve always wanted to go there.” 

“Correct!” Fennel said. “It’s the natural habitat of a Pokemon that’s deeply connected to my research on dreams, which is Munna! Munna, along with its evolution Musharna, give off a substance called Dream Mist, which is key in making that machine work! However, someone went and put a lock on the Dreamyard’s gates, and my supply of Dream Mist is running low, and with all the prickly bushes around the Dreamyard, I can’t get in.”

Fennel reached into the back pocket of her lab coat and pulled out a jewel case containing a disk, giving it to Hilbert. “I’ll let you have this!” 

Hilbert, noticing there was a QR code with text underneath that read, ‘SCAN WITH POKEDEX’ on the case, took out the device and did so. “HM01 Cut,” he read. “I assume this is for cutting down those bushes, right?” 

“Yep!” Fennel said. “It’s a move that a Pokemon can use even outside of battle. You’ll need this city’s Gym Badge to make it work, though. By the way, did you know there’s a button on every Pokedex that sends out a signal that can stop a Pokemon from evolving in case there’s a move you want it to learn at a later level! Amazing, isn’t it? The technology of today is incredible!” 

Rolling his eyes at that last comment, Hilbert nonetheless made a mental note of the Pokedex fact, saying, “Alright, then I’ll just go to the Gym now! That’s what I came to this city for, anyway.” 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” Fennel cried. “The Gym’s been closed for repairs for the last four days. I hear they’re almost done fixing it, but it’s not quite finished.”

 _Dammit,_ Hilbert thought, gritting his teeth. “So what do you want me to do, then?” 

“That’s… kind of up to you,” Fennel said with a sheepish smile. “But my recommendation is the Trainer’s School. You know that brown building close to the Pokemon Center? That’s it. You never know what you’ll learn, and anytime is a good time to expand your brain! Oh, and don’t worry about not being paid for retrieving the Dream Mist. I’ll reward you handsomely for that. How does four thousand Pokedollars sound?” 

Hilbert’s jaw nearly hit the floor, and he could swear his pupils had turned into Pokedollar signs. “F-four _thousand!?”_ he stammered. “Count me in! Of course I’ll do it!” 

“Awesome!” Fennel said. “Come back here when you’ve got this city’s Gym Badge, and I’ll take you to the Dreamyard!” 

“Sounds good!” Hilbert said. “I’ll see ya around.” 

He turned to leave, but Aminita, who had been silent up to then, content to just listen, spoke up. “Um… Mr. Hilbert… if I may ask… have you been using my storage system? I, uh, worked really hard on it…” 

“Honestly, no I haven’t been, and I don’t really plan to,” Hilbert replied. He looked over his shoulder back at her. “In fact, Professor Juniper told me your system has bugs and is unreliable.” 

“Uh, b-bugs?” Aminita stuttered. “I-I don’t know a-anything about any b-bugs in my system, honest!” 

Hilbert turned his head back, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, but then he just shrugged. Obviously there was something wrong with Unova’s Pokemon Storage System, but it wasn’t like he was ever going to use it, so it wasn’t his problem. He left Fennel’s apartment, walking out of the building, and made his way to the Trainer’s School, putting his running shoes to good use on occasion, but looking both ways before he crossed the street to avoid any further incidents like the one he had when he first entered Striaton. 

He reached the Trainer’s School by about 3:46, and went inside. The Trainer’s School was a big single-room schoolhouse, with enough space for seventy desks, all arranged in neat rows facing the huge blackboard on the right wall, while plentiful bookshelves lined the left wall, and the teacher’s desk was in the back-left corner of the room. The back wall was covered in drawings made by students, and a door leading to a backyard area was smack in the middle of the wall. 

Hilbert saw that most of the thirty or so students in the class were taking some sort of test, their heads buried in work with pencils scratching against paper. He then saw Cheren, standing close to the blackboard and reading the topics written on it. The teacher then looked up from his own paperwork and took notice of him, calling out to him. “Ah, another new face! Come over here, young man.” 

Seeing no reason not to obey, Hilbert made his way over to the teacher’s desk, a lot of the students not even looking up from their work. Cheren, unfortunately, did, locking eyes with Hilbert. The black-haired boy gave his friend a somewhat sinister look, then turned back to the blackboard. “So, what brings you here, Trainer?” the teacher said once Hilbert got to his desk. “ Looking to enroll? Or just popping in to learn a thing or two you didn’t before?” 

“Uh… the latter, actually,” Hilbert said. “To be completely honest, I’m just waiting for the Gym to reopen so I challenge it.” 

“In that case, I’d check out what’s written on the blackboard right now if you’re looking to kill a bit of time. And seeing how you want to challenge the Gym, take these.” The teacher opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out three blue objects, each about the size of a marble. “These are Oran Berries,” he continued, dropping them into Hilbert’s waiting palm. “They restore a Pokemon’s health when it drops below a certain point, but not by much. However, that little bit could be a lifesaver, and the difference between victory or defeat. I assume you know how to give these to a Pokemon?” 

Hilbert just shook his head no. 

The teacher sighed. “Alright, then I’ll show you. Give me one of those Berries and a Poke Ball for a second, if you don’t mind.” Unclipping Logan’s Poke Ball from his belt, Hilbert gave both it and one of the Oran Berries to the teacher. 

“This is really quite simple,” the teacher said. “All you do is hold up the Berry to the central button, like so…” A beam of red light shot out of the Ball’s button, and within a second, the Oran Berry had vanished from sight, leaving the teacher holding empty air. “And as they say in Kalos, voilà,” he finished. 

“What… what happened there?” Hilbert said, amazed. 

“The Berry got turned into energy, of course,” the teacher replied. “Poke Balls are wondrous inventions, aren’t they? There’s a whole host of other Pokemon hold items out there, all with their own effects that can give you an edge in battle, so it’d be a good idea to hunt them down.” 

“How will I know what they are, though?” Hilbert asked. 

“You just will, in the same way you know what Pokemon is in each of your Poke Balls, without any markings to differentiate them,” the teacher smiled. “Call it… ‘Trainer’s sense’.” 

“Teacher, can I have some help?” one of the students called from the front row, raising their hand. 

“Yes, just a second,” the teacher replied. “One last thing is how to reverse the process. Just hold the button for three seconds, and the item will be returned like nothing happened. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” he handed Hilbert back Logan’ Poke Ball, then got up to go aid his stuck pupil. 

Hilbert made his way over to the blackboard, and began to read it, standing five feet away from Cheren. The topic on the board was actually quite useful, telling him about STAB, an acronym for ‘Same Type Attack Bonus’. If a Pokemon used a move that matched its own type, the power of said move would be boosted by 1.5 times. 

_No wonder why Maru was able to take so many Scratch attacks from N’s Purrloin, and why Water Gun was doing so much damage,_ he thought. _This also probably means Tackle from Logan will be boosted as well. Not like it matters because Bite is more powerful anyway, but still…_

Cheren, who had been giving Hilbert sidelong glances out of annoyance at his presence, finally spoke up. “What are you doing here?” he whispered, a harsh edge to his tone. 

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Hilbert answered. “Reading up on things I didn’t know, same as you.” 

“Yeah, but _why?_ First you run off in a big hurry, and now you’ve got time to kill? Bit contradictory there, don’t ya think?” 

“Why’s it suddenly your business what I do with my time?” Hilbert said grumpily. “Look, just leave me alone, would you?” 

“No, I won’t,” Cheren said. “In fact, I want to test out how items work in battle, so I’m challenging you, Hilbert. Right here, right now.” 

“Are you _serious!?”_ Hilbert cried, trying and failing to keep his voice low. “Do you remember what happened in my room!? It got fucking destroyed!” 

It was then that he noticed the room had gone very quiet, and he looked back. Everyone was staring at him like had two heads, and the teacher looked none-too-pleased. The man cleared his throat to break the silence. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say? Please repeat it. _Without_ the uncalled-for vulgarity, if you don’t mind.” 

“Sorry about my friend, sir,” Cheren said, cutting Hilbert off before he could speak. “I was challenging him to a battle in here, and he flew off the handle.” 

Hilbert’s expression immediately grew enraged, but the teacher seemed not to notice, his eyes going wide. “In the _room?_ Are you mad? If you wanted to have a Pokemon battle, that area out back is more than suited for it.” 

Cheren’s face turned sheepish in a heartbeat. “Oh…” was all he manage. 

“Although… now that I think about it… this could be a great opportunity for the class to see Trainers go at it in a real battle!” the teacher said, his eyes brightening as the idea came to him. “Everyone, there’s been a change of plans for today. We’ll finish the test tomorrow. For now, you’ll get your first chance to see a Pokemon battle in person! Let’s go outside, follow me.” 

There was a shuffling of chairs as the students all got up, many whispering excitedly amongst themselves. Hilbert gave Cheren a withering look before he followed the mass of students out the back door. The area behind the school was quite spacious and pretty, carpeted in short, well-trimmed grass, with a fountain in the center, its carved decoration being that of the crystal on the forehead of Suicune, one of the legendary Pokemon from Johto. 

Cheren took up a position close to the fountain, with his back to it, while Hilbert stood fifteen feet away. The students formed a rough semi-circle around them. The black-haired boy wasted no time. “Go, Interloper!” he yelled, throwing out his Purrloin. Hilbert then tossed Logan into play without a word. 

“Ah, a battle of feline and canine!” the teacher commented. “Pay close attention class, and take notes!” 

Cheren’s Purrloin hissed at Logan, taking the initiative in attacking, running on all fours for Logan, jumping and popping its claws at the last second, landing a surprise Scratch, and the Lillipup was sent tumbling back with a yip. Logan quickly made it to his feet, and seeing his opponent rushing towards him with a bloodthirsty look, used Leer to freeze the oncoming assault. He then ran to the Purrloin, smashing into it with Tackle, putting everything he had into the move. 

Interceptor yowled in pain as he was struck head-on, flying backwards and landing hard. Logan then followed up by running at the Purrloin, his fangs bared. Purrloin, due to its significantly harder landing, didn’t dodge in time, and Logan chomped down with Bite. Yet, to Hilbert’s shock, Purrloin didn’t seem too affected by the move! 

“That wasn’t a very effective move, Hilbert,” Cheren said. “I’m not sure what your Lillipup was expecting to accomplish by using a Dark-type move on a Dark-type Pokemon. Interceptor, use Scratch repeatedly!” 

_Oh shit,_ Hilbert thought. “Logan, get outta there, now!” 

Logan opened his mouth and jumped back just as Purrloin’s claws slashed down at him, so close they actually shaved off a few hairs from his face. Purrloin wasn’t about to let up, though, using Scratch after Scratch as per Cheren’s command, not giving Logan a second’s rest and forcing him to hop back further and further. This couldn’t and didn’t last forever, and soon Logan was hit again, sending him rolling across the grass. However, this gave Logan the opportunity to repeat his tactic from a few minutes earlier, freezing Purrloin in place with Leer, and ramming into him with Tackle. 

_We’re evenly matched,_ Cheren thought. _I gotta use Interceptor’s other move if I want any chance of winning this. It’s a dice roll… but it’s a risk I have to take._ “Interceptor, get in close and use Assist!” he shouted. 

Interceptor did as he was told, rushing forward, making Logan brace for an attack that wouldn’t come. Instead, the Devious Pokemon raised one paw above its head, a glowing orb of light enveloping the appendage. Both Hilbert and Logan stared at it, unsure of what to do as Cheren crossed his fingers. Suddenly, Purrloin whipped his paw down, a thin green vine coming out of the light orb striking Logan across the face. The Puppy Pokemon yelped in pain, knocked out. 

“What the hell!?” Hilbert yelled. “What was that!?”

“Yes!” Cheren shouted. “I knew that risk would pay off!” 

_Outstanding_ use of Assist, young man!” the teacher said. “Well done!” 

“Alright, what the hell is Assist!?” Hilbert yelled. “What just happened!?” 

“Oh, let me explain,” the teacher said. “Assist randomly selects a move from every move in a given Trainer’s party. Since your opponent undoubtedly has a Grass-type that knows Vine Whip, Assist picked it. Of course, it was a gamble, but in this case it did pay off!” 

“Damn!” Hilbert growled. _At least that Purrloin is weakened. But I gotta be careful. Everyone knows the basic Grass-Fire-Water triangle._

“You gonna throw out your Oshawott, or do you give up?” Cheren said smugly. 

“Hell no,” Hilbert hissed. “Maru, get out there!” He returned his Lillipup and tossed out his starter Pokemon, who appeared in a flash of white light. “Use Water Gun, right now!” 

Oshawott released his signature high-pressure water stream from his mouth, hitting the Purrloin dead-on. Just like with N’s Purrloin, the move was more than enough to get the knockout. However, Cheren just grinned, as this meant he could send out his ace in the hole. He returned his Purrloin, and sent out his Snivy. Hilbert visibly gulped. Somehow, the little Grass Snake Pokemon seemed very threatening when the Pokemon he had staring it down was weak to Grass-types. 

Cheren, much to his dismay, went right for the jugular. “Tara, Vine Whip!” he called. Snivy quickly grew a thin vine out of its grassy forelimb and snapped it forward, too fast for Oshawott to dodge. There was a sharp _CRACK_ as the move made contact, Oshawott screaming in pain from the super-effective attack. 

“Maru, no!” Hilbert yelled. “Come on, use Water Gun again!” 

Maru popped to his feet from where he had landed a short distance away, and blasted Snivy with water, but this didn’t seem to do much in terms of damage. Cheren only smirked. “Vine Whip, again!” he commanded. 

Knowing that Oshawott getting hit by another Vine Whip would surely knock his starter out and lose him the match, Hilbert yelled, “Maru, catch it!” as Snivy ran towards the Sea Otter Pokemon, bringing the foliage-based whip down. Against all odds, Maru used his stubby forelimbs to catch the end of the whip, then yanked it towards him, unending Snivy and causing her to fall on her face. Maru then ran forward and slammed into Snivy with Tackle, sending her backwards. 

Hilbert let out a relieved sigh, thinking he finally had gained a foothold or even the upper hand… but that cut off with a strangled gasp as a glow surrounded Snivy. 

“Ah, I see you put one of the Oran Berries I gave you on your Snivy!” the teacher said from the sidelines. 

Cheren grinned as Hilbert’s eyes went wide. “Oh shit…” he breathed. 

Cheren took advantage of Hilbert’s momentary lapse in concentration to attack. “Tackle, now!” he yelled. Oshawott was hit with the attack, sending him backwards across the battlefield. 

_Dammit!_ Hilbert thought angrily with his teeth and fists clenched. _He’s got every advantage in this fight! How am I gonna win this!?_

Cilan hummed a tune to himself as he walked the last few feet to the Trainer’s School, waving to a few passerby. He went inside, taking a deep breath to make the announcement that the Gym’s repairs were finally done and it was ready to accept challengers again… but the words died in his throat when he saw that no one was in the building. 

“Um, where is everyone?” the green-haired Striaton Gym Leader said to no one in particular. “I swear there was a test going on today…” 

He then noticed that there was a large gathering of students in the back area through the glass door. “Now what could they be doing back there?” he wondered aloud, walking to the door and going outside. The students had all gathered around two Trainers he didn’t recognize having a battle. He gently pushed his way through the throng, some students saying, “The Gym Leader’s here!” or, “It’s Cilan!” as he made his way forward. 

Once he got to the front, he could clearly make out what was going on. One boy with brown hair and an Oshawott was desperately commanding his Pokemon to dodge Vine Whip after Vine Whip from his opponent’s Snivy. The Oshawott panted heavily, and was obviously low on health. Cilan shrugged, deciding to give the baseball-cap boy some help. 

“Um, excuse me,” he said, tapping the boy on the shoulder. 

The boy’s head snapped back to look at him. “I’m a little busy right now!” he yelled. He then turned his attention back to the battle, just in time to order his Oshawott out of the way of yet another Vine Whip. 

“Your Oshawott seems to be low on health, which means that its ability, um, Torrent, is probably active,” Cilan pointed out. 

“What good is that!?” Hilbert screamed, desperation clear in his voice. 

“It boosts the power of Water-type moves,” Cilan said. “It might just be enough to knock out that Snivy. Have your Oshawott get some distance between it and that Snivy, and then try it.” 

Hilbert sighed. _Well, what have I got to lose?_ he thought. “Oshawott, back up and use Water Gun!” he shouted. 

Oshawott danced out of range of an oncoming Vine Whip, and let out a powerful stream of water from his mouth, stronger than anything he had ever shot before up to that point in his life. The attack rammed into Snivy, sending her flying back right into Cheren’s upper chest, and with a cry of surprise and alarm, he fell backwards into the fountain with a splash. 

It took Hilbert a moment to process what had just happened, but the _ding!_ of his Pokédex from inside his bag brought him back to reality, and by then, a fuming and dripping-wet Cheren had extracted himself from the fountain with the aid of a couple of students, and stomped over to Hilbert to give him his prize money. 

“Uh… sorry about that, man…” Hilbert said sheepishly. 

“Save it,” Cheren snapped, tapping his Trainer Card against Hilbert’s. “You only won because you had help you didn’t deserve.” He then stormed away in a huff. 

There was a short silence after that, broken by Cilan clearing his throat. “Well, I’m sure that was a good match, but at the same time, I’m… kind of sad I didn’t get to see more of it. Now, what was I here for in the first place..? Oh, right. Everyone, I have an announcement to make. The Gym’s repairs are done, and we’re ready for, um, challengers to face it.” 

A huge cheer went up from the crowd of students, Cilan waiting for it to quiet. “However, I’d like our first challenger to be you,” he pointed to Hilbert. “Would you take me up on that offer.” 

“Hell yes,” Hilbert said. _That reward Fennel promised me is as good as mine!_

“Excellent!” Cilan said. “I think it’d be best to do it tomorrow, though, because it’s getting a little bit late right now. How does, um… ten o’clock in the morning sound?” 

“Sure, I’ll be there.” 

“Great. Just be sure to make it on time, because if you don’t, that’s an automatic disqualification.” 

“Got it,” Hilbert said. 

Little did anyone know, a furious Cheren was listening to all this from the doorway, his fists clenched so tight enough to turn his knuckles white. _That should have been me to challenge the Gym first,_ he fumed, anger bubbling inside him like magma. _Next time, I’ll beat you, Hilbert, and there_ will _be a next time. I swear it_ _._


	9. Chapter 7: Striaton Gym

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 7: Striaton Gym**

“Are you ready to take on your Gym challenge yet, sir?” the waitress asked. 

Hilbert finished downing the last of his Pecha Berry juice and plunked the glass on the table. “You bet,” he said confidently. 

It was the day after his battle with Cheren, making it March 13th. He had spent the rest of the previous day grinding against wild Pokemon on Route 2, and though it took almost to nine-thirty at night, he had gotten both his Pokemon up to level 12. Oshawott automatically learned Water Sport at level 11 to round out his starting moveset, but if Hilbert was being honest, it was something he would _never_ have taught Oshawott willingly. All it did was weaken the power of Fire-type attacks, something that Oshawott already _did_ by definition as a Water-type. 

Meanwhile, Lillipup tried to learn Helping Hand at level 12, and Hilbert gave the green light to it, mainly because _anything_ was better than Odor Sleuth. Helping Hand powered up the moves of a friendly Pokemon in a double battle- something potentially useful, if niche. He also still had the Oran Berries from the Trainer’s School teacher, but decided to save them for when he got to the Gym Leader. 

“Alright, then,” the waitress said, taking his dirty dishes off the table he was sitting at, and took them away, vanishing into a door on the right that presumably led to the kitchen. 

Striaton Gym was a restaurant that consisted of four large dining areas, each divided up by giant curtains. Smooth and well-polished hardwood made up the flooring, with the walls painted light brown. The dividing curtains each had a symbol on them that represented a type from the basic elemental triangle of grass, fire, and water. In front of them were three small buttons inlaid on the floor, coloured red, blue, and green respectively. After paying for his meal at the cash register (and discovering to his delight that Gym challengers received a 25% discount on their food) Hilbert walked up to the buttons.

 _Now what is it they want me to do..?_ he thought. _Should I step on the button with the type_ weak _against the one on the curtain, or strong against it? Only one way to find out, I guess._

Raising his leg, he lightly pressed down on the blue button. A loud _DING!_ was heard, and the curtain with its Fire-type symbol parted, clearing the way. 

“And that answers that question. This is gonna be piss easy,” he said to himself, walking through the entryway. 

He hadn’t taken so much as four steps into the new room when a voice spoke up, causing him to jump. “Ah, so this is our challenger for today! Welcome to Striaton Gym, Trainer!” 

“Would a warning be too much to ask for!?” Hilbert managed to shout angrily, hand on his chest and breathing heavily from the unexpected scare.

“Oh, sorry!” the man said sheepishly. He was clearly a waiter at the Gym, going by his clothing. “Where are my manners? My name is Maxwell, and I’ll be your first opponent here.” 

“What?” 

“Oh, you didn’t think reaching the Gym Leaders would be as simple as that puzzle, did you? Oh, no. You’ll have to face Trainers on your path in every Gym. Remember that. Now, without further ado, let’s begin! I’ll be the first course of battle in here! Go, Lillipup!” He threw out his lone Poke Ball, and it opened in mid-air, letting out the Puppy Pokemon inside. It growled at Hilbert threateningly. 

_Damn, apparently Gym Trainers are tougher than the weaklings on Route 2,_ Hilbert thought. _Gotta be careful in here._

Knowing that he had to bring out the big guns in order to win, Hilbert tossed out Maru. 

Not needing its Trainer to utter a command, the Lillipup’s eyes glowed the intimidating red of Leer, freezing Maru in place for more than enough time to run forward and chomp down on him with Bite. Maru cried out in pain, but opened his mouth and shot his opponent with a point-blank Water Gun, blasting it away. 

The Lillipup recovered from the attack just in time to see Maru running towards it, but too late to do anything before it was slammed into with Tackle. This time, Lillipup was sent flying back so far it hit the wall. It got weakly to its feet, only to be hit with another Water Gun, knocking it out. 

“Oh!” Maxwell exclaimed. “It seems I lost. And so easily, too. You’re one talented Trainer. You’re free to go on ahead.” 

They recalled their respective Pokemon, and tapped Trainer Cards. “One question before I do,” Hilbert said. “What happens if I need to go back to the Pokemon Center before I take on the Gym Leader?” 

“Oh, you can, but we’ll have to reset the puzzle. Pokemon League policy, I’m afraid! Plus, they’ll do that in every Gym if you leave, so remember that.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.” 

The next curtain showed a water droplet on it, so Hilbert stepped on the green button. The same loud _DING!_ was heard, and the curtain parted. He stepped through this new entrance, albeit much more cautiously this time. _No more jump scares,_ he thought. His attentiveness was rewarded, as he saw the Trainer in the room before she saw him. It was the waitress that had served him his meal. She was just sitting at one of the tables, her thumb idly swiping along the screen of her phone. 

An evil smirk oozed its way onto Hilbert’s face. _Payback time._ He slowed his pace, taking measured steps, moving like a phantom, and crept up behind the waitress’s chair. His smirk unrelenting, and in fact growing to the point where he had to stifle laughter, he yelled, “Boo!” and threw his arms up in a sudden motion. The waitress shrieked, whirling around, even as Hilbert burst out laughing. 

“What the hell was that for!?” she cried. 

“No reason, no reason,” Hilbert said, still laughing, though it was dying down. 

The waitress’s expression was nonplussed. “Well… anyway,” she said, standing up out of her chair, “I guess introductions are in order. I’m Tia, and I’ll be your last opponent before the Gym Leader.”

“Name’s Hilbert.” 

“Well, Hilbert, are you ready for this?” Tia said, pulling a Poke Ball out of the pocket of her apron. Hilbert nodded and backed up about fifteen feet to give his Pokemon some room to fight. 

“Go, Patrat!” Tia yelled, tossing out her Scout Pokemon. 

Hilbert rolled his eyes. _Not another one of these things._ “Maru, get out there!” 

Maru immediately went for Water Gun, which Patrat swiftly spun away from, then ran for its opponent. However, Tia then had it do something Hilbert hadn’t seen before. “Patrat, hold up! Use Bide!” she called. 

Patrat skidded to a halt about five feet from Maru, tensing its body, seeming coiled like a spring. A feral grin curved Hilbert’s lips upwards. _Well, if it’s gonna just leave itself open, who am I not to take advantage of that?_ he thought. “Maru, Water Gun!” 

Maru immediately did as it was told, landing a direct hit on the Scout Pokemon, but still it did not budge, merely enduring the attack. “Water Gun, again!” 

Maru blasted his opponent once more, and once more Patrat endured the hit, but a smile blossomed on Tia’s face, and she cried, “Now, Patrat! Double the damage!” 

Hilbert’s eyes widened in shock as a yellow glow surrounded the Scout Pokemon, and with unbelievable speed, it rocketed forward, slamming into Maru with more than enough force to send him into the wall. The starter was knocked out before he even hit the ground. 

“ _Maru!”_ Hilbert yelled. He quickly returned his starter to its Poke Ball, then whipped his head back to Tia. “What in the… what the _fuck was that!?”_ Anger was clear as crystal in his voice. 

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… language,” Tia said, but upon seeing the blazing fury in Hilbert’s eyes, she cowed. _Better not make him any angrier. He looks like he wants to rip my arms off._ “That was Bide. It makes it so your Pokemon can’t attack until it’s been attacked twice, but in return, it doubles the damage.” 

_Dammit! And now I’m down to just Logan!_ Hilbert thought. With no other choice, he sent him out. “Logan, go for Bite!” 

Baring his fangs, Logan raced for Patrat, who countered with Leer, then rammed into him with Tackle. _Shit… I gotta land the last hit on that thing somehow! Maru’s attacks had to have left it weak!_ “Leer, then Tackle!” 

Logan’s eyes glowed the characteristic red of Leer, freezing the Patrat in place. He then ran for it, bowling it over with Tackle and knocking it out. Hilbert sighed in relief as Tia returned the Patrat to its Poke Ball, only to watch with despair as she pulled out another one. _You’ve gotta be kidding me!_

“What?” Tia said, somewhat confused at the look on Hilbert’s face. “You didn’t think I’d have _only_ a single Pokemon, did you? You’d better get used to your opponents having more than one Pokemon, Hilbert. If you don’t expect the unexpected, you won’t last too long. Now go, Purrloin!” 

“Why’d it have to have to be a damn Purrloin..?” Hilbert muttered under his breath. “I hate those things…” 

Tia wasted no time in taking the upper hand whilst Hilbert was grumbling. “Scratch!” she called. 

“Damn! Logan, Leer, now!” Hilbert said. Logan’s eyes glowed red, almost too late. The Purrloin was two feet away and in the process of winding up for the attack when it was frozen in place. “Tackle!” Logan ran forward and slammed into the Purrloin, knocking it back. “Keep it up! Don’t let it get in another attack!” 

Logan once more rammed into the Purrloin before it could recover, then did it again, knocking it out. 

“Aw… darn,” Tia said, but her disappointment didn’t seem genuine. “At least I knocked out one of your Pokemon, so that’s something.” She returned her Purrloin to its Poke Ball, and tapped Trainer Cards with Hilbert, who was still exhaling somewhat heavily from both his angry outburst when Maru was knocked out and the adrenaline of the battle. “Since you’ve defeated me, you’re free to on the Gym Leader. Good luck.” 

“Not yet,” Hilbert said. “I need to go back to the Pokemon Center and heal my team- no thanks to you.” He turned and walked out of the room, not noticing the look on Tia’s face at his rude comment. 

_Weird kid,_ she thought, then took a remote control out of her apron and pressed a button on it, closing the curtains after Hilbert had gone. 

Hilbert wasted no time in running to the Pokemon Center and getting his team healed, then running straight back to the Gym. On his way back, he gave two of his three Oran Berries to Maru and Logan. Every advantage he could give himself in the upcoming fight would help. He re-entered the Gym, solved the first two curtain puzzles again, and stood before the last set of buttons. The final curtain showed a leaf, obviously an indication of Grass-types, so he stepped on the red button, and it parted. 

The room revealed to him, at first, looked like a high-class dining area, if not for one thing: the complete lack of tables. The floor was covered in blood-red carpet lined with white patterns, the walls had fancy crown molding all along the top edges, the walls themselves were painted a soft, welcoming cream with a brown stripe in the middle, running around the circumference of the room, and a skylight let in the glow of the sun from above. The whole thing smelled of freshly-cut wood and recently-dried paint. _Probably from the recent renovations,_ Hilbert thought. 

The most striking feature of the room was the big blue screen installed on the far wall. It currently displayed a three-dimensional image of a Poke Ball, many small dots in orbit around it. He didn’t know the purpose of the screen, but he did know he was alone in the room. “Hello?” he called. “Anyone here?” 

He let out a small noise of surprise as a door on the right wall opened. It was camouflaged so well he hadn’t seen it. Three men, including the guy who helped him win against Cheren. They were all dressed in identical waiter uniforms, with black pants and vests, well-polished brown loafers, and white long-sleeved shirts. In fact, the only things that he could use to tell them apart were the colour of their bow ties, and hair. The ties matched with the colour of their hair: red, blue, and green. 

“Ah, our first challenger is here, it seems!” the red-haired one said. “This the one you invited, Cilan? The Trainer you helped at the school?” 

“Uh… yes, this is him,” the green-haired one, Cilan, said, sounding for all the world like he didn’t recognize Hilbert at all. The boy just rolled his eyes. 

“Now, now, you two,” the blue-haired one said with a voice that reminded Hilbert of flowing water. “Let’s not annoy him. Our job is to challenge Trainers, not antagonize them. What’s your name, young man? You’ve already met Cilan, but not me or Chili. I’m Cress. And you are?” 

“Hilbert.” The two of them shook hands, the other two Gym Leaders introducing themselves to him in turn. 

“Alright, now that _that’s_ outta the way, how many Badges do you have, and what Pokemon did you pick as your starter?” Chili asked. 

“Well, I picked Oshawott as my starter, and as for Badges,” Hilbert rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “I don’t… actually have any yet. Why’s that relevant?” 

All three Gym Leaders let out an audible sigh of relief. “Thank Arceus,” Cilan said. “This means the battle arena won’t get trashed again.”

“Is that why you were doing renovations?” Hilbert asked. “I mean, what happened?”

Chili looked down at the floor in shame, something that was not lost on Hilbert, as Cilan explained. “It was about a week ago, I think. A challenger with, um… an Excadrill, I think it was, came in and… well, let’s just say it was ugly. Thankfully, you don’t have any Pokemon _near_ that powerful, so it should be fine.”

“At least I won that battle…” Chili grumbled under his breath. 

“Either way, I think it’s high time we got this battle underway, didn’t we?” Cress said, ignoring his brother. “Since this is your first Gym battle, I’ll explain how it works.” 

Cress went to say that Gym Leaders did not fight using all the skill they possessed. Rather, they held back somewhat and used different teams depending on how many Badges a given challenger had. Hilbert retreated to the left side of the room while the Striaton triplets did the same to the right, and Cilan grabbed two Poke Balls out of a hidden compartment in the wall. Much as he tried to hide it externally, Hilbert couldn’t help but admit he was slightly scared, his heartbeat elevated.

He pulled his starter’s Poke Ball off his belt and threw it. “Go, Maru!” he yelled. 

“Lillipup, go!” Cilan cried, tossing out his Puppy Pokemon. 

The screen, much to Hilbert’s surprise, lit up with a different display. It now showed a picture of Oshawott on one side, with a picture of Lillipup on the other. Twin green bars attached to each picture then extended outward. 

“Wha..?” Hilbert began. 

“Health bar screen,” Chili called. “It displays how much health a Pokemon has left in real-time, but only Gyms and the Elite Four’s battling rooms have them, so don’t get used to ‘em.” 

“Lillipup, Bite!” Cilan commanded. 

Lillipup began a headlong dash for Oshawott, moving faster than any Lillipup Hilbert had seen up to that point. “Maru, Water Gun!” he cried. The Lillipup, being a veteran of dozens of these attacks, stopped on a dime, and jumped to the side, then continued its charge, fangs bared. 

Maru was just gathering water in its mouth for another Water Gun when the Lillipup pounced, clamping its jaws down on the Oshawott’s arm, causing him to let out a garbled cry and vomit up the liquid. Oshawott’s health bar went down, but it was still green. 

Hilbert attempted to call out a command, but the Lillipup shook its head and flung Maru several feet away before he could. Maru, still coughing from his botched Water Gun, was helpless as the Lillipup bore down on him again and chomped down on his face. Maru cried out in agony as his health bar dropped down another notch. 

_Dammit! We haven’t even gotten a single hit on that thing!_ Hilbert said. He grit his teeth, unable to do anything but watch as his starter kept screaming out, until he could take it no more. “Maru, do something! Anything! Just get that thing off you!” 

Maru, granted new determination by his master’s call, drew back his stubby arm and hit the Lillipup right smack on the nose, making it yip and release its grasp. Maru then rolled to his feet and rammed the Lillipup with Tackle. The Lillipup yelped at the strike, being sent tumbling back several feet. Maru then followed that up with a quick Water Gun, blasting the Lillipup and bringing its health down below where Maru’s currently sat. 

“Ah!” Cilan cried out in uncharacteristic alarm. “My Pokemon! Lillipup, Work Up! Let’s get back in this!” 

Lillipup shook itself dry, but then growled and began… vibrating, almost like a jackhammer with no one to control it. A red glow then surrounded it briefly as it stopped its rapid movement. 

“That can’t be good,” Hilbert breathed fearfully. Lillipup then began running once more for his starter. _Water Gun didn’t work last time, so what should I do!?_ “Maru! Try and meet with Tackle!”

Maru ran for the Lillipup, but it was too late. Lillipup was closer, and bit down on the Oshawott. This time, the attack was devastating. Maru’s health bar dropped down into the low yellow, but shot back up into the green as he glowed for a second. Lillipup growled angrily and tossed Maru away with a flick of its head. 

“Ah, so you gave your Oshawott a Berry!” Cress called. “A good strategy, I must admit.” 

_Screw the Berry, why’d that Bite do much damage!?_ Hilbert thought as Maru made it to his feet. _That move called Work Up must have raised its attack or something!_ “Maru!” he called. “Keep using Water Gun! Don’t let it anywhere near you, got it!?” 

Maru nodded and started shooting Water Gun after Water Gun in Lillipup’s direction, banking on the fact that it wouldn’t be able to dodge them all, and this gamble paid off, as Lillipup was hit with the third blast, knocking it off its feet and lowering its health bar into the high yellow. 

Now angry beyond measure, the Lillipup began to vibrate, the telltale signal for Work Up, but Maru was not about to let it boost its attack even further. He shot a Water Gun right at the opposing Pokemon, and hit it dead-on, interrupting the Work Up and knocking another chunk off its health bar. Now it was down to the low yellow. 

“Tackle!” Hilbert yelled. 

Maru ran for the dazed Lillipup, and slammed into it with all his strength. This attack proved to be enough, driving the Puppy Pokemon’s health down into the red and then into nothing, knocking it out. Hilbert’s Pokedex dinged as Maru grew to level 13. 

“Darn!” Cilan cried. He quickly recalled his fainted Pokemon to its Poke Ball. “Well, you’ve gotten me down to my last Pokemon. Good work, but I’m not about to go down easy! Go, Pansage!” 

The Pokemon that materialized from the Poke Ball Cilan tossed out was a small monkey-like creature. It had stubby green legs with a green tail, a cream torso, and arms, and a large head with what looked like broccoli sticking out of the top. The health bar screen updated to show Pansage’s picture and full bar. 

“Aw, crap, another Grass-type,” Hilbert grumbled. _And it’s probably higher levelled than Maru,_ he mentally added. 

His fears were valid, as Pansage leapt into action, a long, thin vine growing out from its fingerless paws. “Hilbert recognized the attack immediately. “Maru, look out!” he cried, but it was too late. Pansage brought the Vine Whip down on Maru, making the Water-type cry out in pain as he was hit with the super effective attack. Maru’s health bar was driven down to the very edge, with just a small sliver of red remaining. 

_I gotta get at least some damage on that Pansage before Maru goes down!_ Hilbert thought. “Maru, Water Gun!” he commanded. 

As Pansage brought the grassy whip around for strike, Maru shot a blast of water at the Grass Monkey Pokemon, the attacks hitting each Pokemon near simultaneously. Though the Vine Whip was pure overkill to knock out Maru, his Water Gun connected, taking off a small chunk of Pansage’s health. 

_Every bit helps,_ Hilbert thought, then called, “Maru, return! Go, Logan!” The Puppy Pokemon materialized from his Poke Ball, growling at Pansage. With no command needed, Logan’s eyes glowed red, the Leer freezing Pansage where it was. The Puppy Pokemon then bared his fangs and ran for his opponent. Pansage, however, was prepared for this. Just before it became frozen in place by the Leer, it had grown a second whip out of its other hand, and as the effects of the move wore off, swung both in an arc towards Logan. 

Logan yelped in pain as the Vine Whips made contact with his cheek, knocking him to the side and taking a large chunk out of his health bar. Pansage smirked, cockily retracting the whips, but immediately regretted doing so as Logan growled in rage and ran again at him, his eyes glowing red as he came. This did the trick, freezing the Grass Monkey in place more than long enough for fangs to meet torso. 

Pansage cried out, his health bar dropping to the low green, as Logan clamped down tighter, shaking him like a chew toy. In a fitting bit of poetic irony, Logan then did to Pansage what Cilan’s Lillipup had done to Maru, and tossed him away, Pansage landing hard. Logan continued to show no mercy, ramming headfirst into Pansage with Tackle, sending him flying and making his health bar drop into the yellow. 

“Pansage, get back in this!” Cilan called as Pansage pushed himself to his feet. “Work Up, then Vine Whip!” 

_Oh, no you don’t,_ Hilbert thought. As Pansage, like the Lillipup before it, began its strange vibration that was indicative of Work Up, he yelled, “Leer!” Logan’s eyes turned red, stopping the Pansage’s attempted attack boost dead in its tracks. “Now Bite!” 

Logan dashed for the Pansage, his fangs bared, and he chomped down on the Grass Monkey Pokemon. Pansage’s health dropped another chunk, this time down into the low yellow. “Just a little more, Logan!” Hilbert yelled in encouragement. “Keep at it! Don’t let up!” Spurred on by his Trainer’s call, Logan released his jaws momentarily, then bit down again, driving Pansage ‘s health down to a tiny bit of red. Logan then tossed his opponent away and charged, intending to finish the battle with one last Tackle right then and there. 

It was not to be, though. Pansage sidestepped the attack with its paws glowing white, and slashed Logan across the flank as he passed. “Nice Fury Swipes!” Cilan called. “Keep doing that!” 

Hilbert’s heart leapt into his throat as Logan was hit again and again by Pansage, each hit driving the Lillipup’s health bar down further. The attacks didn’t do much individually, but combined, they left Logan with a sliver of health, just the same as Pansage. 

The two Pokemon stared each other down after that, each barely managing to keep conscious. _It all comes down to this next attack,_ Hilbert thought. _Whoever hits first wins._

Both Cilan and Hilbert, just like their respective Pokemon, stared each other down, both not daring to make a move lest one of them turn out the loser. Even Cress and Chili were silent. An intense glare on his face, Hilbert watched Cilan for even the slightest movement. Then, he saw it- a small upwards tilt of his upper lip, betraying what he was about to do. 

“Vine Whip!” Cilan called. 

“Now! Tackle!” Hilbert shouted. 

Pansage grew the trademark green vine out of its paw as Logan sprinted with everything he had left towards the Grass Monkey. Pansage swung the Vine Whip in a sideways arc, but this would prove to be its undoing. Logan slid underneath the vine, shot to his feet, and rammed into Pansage head-on, his health bar being reduced to nothing. Hilbert had won. 

It took until the buzzer sounded from the screen that the boy even registered what just happened. When it did sink in, though, he let out a joyful cry and ran up to Logan, picking up his surprisingly heavy Pokemon and hugging him to his chest. His Pokédex pinged, letting him know Logan was now level 13, but he hardly heard it. 

“We did it, Logan!” he said breathlessly. “We won our first Gym battle! You were so great out there..!” Logan yipped and started licking his face, making Hilbert laugh and put him down, returning him to his Poke Ball. 

Cilan did the same to his fainted Pansage and walked over to Hilbert with his brothers. “It seems I, uh… lost,” he said, tapping Trainer Cards with Hilbert. “Well done, Hilbert. In recognition of your victory, I present to you the Striaton Gym Trio Badge.” 

He reached into a pocket and pulled out the Badge, placing it into Hilbert’s eager palm. The boy held it up to the light, letting the sun reflect off it. The Badge was gold and shaped like a double-sided dagger, three small fake gemstones inlaid into the center. He got his Badge Case out of his bag and put the Trio Badge into the appropriate slot in the foam. 

“And take this, too,” Chili said. He pulled a jewel case containing a disk. “This is a Technical Machine, or TM. This one has Work Up. It’s TM03. TM’s back in the day were single-use, but they updated them a few years back, so now you can use ‘em as much as you like!” 

Hilbert gratefully accepted the TM, and put it in his bag, then turned back to Cilan. “Thank you, Cilan,” he said. “That was a great battle.” 

“You’re very welcome, though I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting you to win, what with you needing my help to defeat that boy the other day. Say, what was his name?” 

Hilbert sighed. “His name’s Cheren. We’ve been friends ever since we were little kids, but he’s got a competitive side to him. Much as I appreciate the help you gave me, I’m afraid him losing like that might have set him off. He looked pissed.” 

“Well, just talk it over and I’m sure he’ll forgive you,” Cress said calmly. “If he doesn’t, just give it some time. Pokemon journeys change people, and in time I’m sure he’ll learn to let go of that side of himself.” 

“We can only hope,” Hilbert said. “Anyway, I gotta get going now. Thanks again for the battle. I’ll see ya around.” 

They said their farewells, and Hilbert walked out of the room. _Alright_ , _I’ll h_ e _al my team up at the Pokemon Center and then head straight to Fennel’s place,_ he thought, smirking greedily. _That money is as good as mine!_


	10. Chapter 10: Another N-counter

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 10: Another N-counter**

Stepping through the gate and into Nacrene City, Hilbert felt like he had travelled back to a more rustic age. The streets, unlike the pavement of Striaton, were cobblestone, most of the buildings seemingly constructed in decades past and restored. It was to the point where the occasional apartment complex and the Pokemon Center (which thankfully he could see this time) looked downright jarring by comparison. 

Hilbert rocked back on his heels and started running towards the Pokemon Center, located on the same street as the gate. As he ran along the sidewalk, he saw that many of the renovated buildings were clothing shops, others art galleries, while a few others were cafè’s. Then, looking left at the road, he saw something that made him do a double-take. There, buried in the cobblestone streets, were old and disused train tracks. The wooden tresses had long since been removed, but the steel part was still there. _What the hell..?_ he thought. 

What Hilbert didn’t know was that the renovated buildings were over a century old, having been used as warehouses for supplies brought via train at that time. Some of the warehouses were rotted beyond repair by the time people began to turn Nacrene into a proper city, and hence were torn down to make room for apartment buildings and other needed structures like grocery stores, and obviously a few modern homes had been built, but the majority of the buildings were still these renovated warehouses. 

He reached the Pokemon Center before long, and checked into a room there after having the nurse heal his team. He bought a small pack of band-aides from the store, going up to his room to apply one over the cut on his cheek and throw away the trash from his PTMRE. When he came back down, Cheren was in the lounge area reading a magazine, so he walked over to him. Cheren glanced up at the sound of Hilbert’s approaching footsteps, then went right back to his magazine. 

“Did you enjoy your pizza?” Cheren said flatly. 

“Well… yeah, it was good,” Hilbert replied. _What’s got him so dead all of a sudden?_ he mentally added. An awkward silence followed for a few seconds until Hilbert broke it by asking, “So, do you have anything on the Gym Leader in this city?” 

“I’m not sure why I’m suddenly the info broker, but yeah, I do,” Cheren said. “Her name’s Lenora, and according to this magazine, she’s no pushover. Even though she uses Normal-types, she’s got a lot of tricks up her sleeve that she makes use of no matter how many Badges a given challenger has. It’s to the point that a woman named Karen hands out helpful items to Trainers for free.” 

“Damn. Did you go there already?” 

“Yep, and I got this.” Cheren reached into his pocket and pulled out a large yellow seed, about the size of a closed fist. “This is a Miracle Seed. It raises the power of Grass-type moves, but I can only use it once, so I’m gonna save it for when I face off against Lenora.” 

“Sounds great. Where can I find her?” 

Cheren went dead silent again, mulling over whether he should give Hilbert the information or just send him on a wild goose chase for the sake of it. In the end, he sighed and chose the former, knowing he would probably regret doing so. He sighed. “She’s on the west end of the city. Just keep following the road outside the Pokemon Center and eventually you’ll find her house. It’s got a blue door, too.” 

“Alright, thanks.” Hilbert left the Pokemon Center and began running west, following the road and paying close attention to the colours of the doors on the buildings. It turned out that Karen’s house was on the extreme west side of the city, near the limits, in fact, and was one of the few modern homes built in Nacrene. He found the one with the blue door, and knocked on it. 

About ten seconds later, the door opened to reveal a pretty woman with blonde hair who looked to be in her early thirties. “Yes?” she said. 

“I assume you’re Karen?” Hilbert said. “My name’s Hilbert. I’m a Pokemon Trainer on a journey.” 

“Oh, you are?” Karen said, noticing the Poke Balls on Hilbert’s belt. “Come in, come in!” 

The interior of the house was nothing special, being somewhat reminiscent of Hilbert’s own home in Nuvema, albeit slightly smaller. Karen led Hilbert into the living room, asking, “So Hilbert, which starter did you pick?” 

“Oh, I picked Oshawott,” Hilbert replied. “Just saw potential in the little guy, y’know?” 

“Okay, then that means I’ll get you a Mystic Water,” Karen said, walking out of the living room and going upstairs. “Just a second, they’re in my room!” 

She came down about forty seconds later, holding a pendant with a small blue teardrop shape at the end. Handing it to Hilbert, she said, “This is a Mystic Water. If you give it to a Pokemon- it doesn’t have to be Oshawott- it will boost the power of that Pokemon’s Water-type moves. It’ll stack with STAB, as well.” 

“Nice, thanks,” Hilbert said, letting his Oshawott’s Poke Ball suck in the item. “Now I’ll have a secret weapon against Lenora.” 

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Karen cautioned him. “Don’t take Lenora lightly. She’s a tough customer, and I’ve seen more than a few Trainers run away crying from her Gym back to the Pokemon Center, even _with_ the items I’ve given them.” 

Hilbert’s face scrunched in mild annoyance. “Not to be rude here, but it’s none of your business when I choose to take on the Gyms that I do.” 

Karen just held her hands up. “Fine, fine. Just don’t come crying to me if you lose. If you’re determined to take it on today, the Gym is in the back of the museum located northeast. It’s a big building. You can’t miss it.” 

Leaving Karen’s house after bidding farewell to her, Hilbert started running towards the museum. Nacrene was much more segmented than Striaton, broken up into four rough quadrants. Currently, he was in the lower-left quadrant, with the Gym to the north of all four quadrants, overlooking them. Hilbert ran through the streets, past many restored warehouses and a few apartment buildings in a mad dash northeast. The sun had reached its zenith in the sky when he was only about halfway there, and he knew he had to double-time it to make it if he wanted to face Lenora and walk away with the Badge with time left in the day. 

With narrowed eyes, N disgustedly turned away from the bone clubs once wielded by Marowak and Cubone, scoffing. _Why did I come here?_ he thought. _This whole building is just a twisted monument to human dominance over Pokemon!_ Even stepping into the building, he had been horrified to see the giant skeleton of an ancient Dragon-type Pokemon on display like any other statue, with no respect paid to the fact that it was once alive and had feelings. Truth be told, the whole thing made bile rise in his throat. 

Everyone else in the museum, however, seemed fascinated by the exhibits, something that made his blood boil in his veins. He wanted to scream, to lash out, to tell those fools and the world how… how _wrong_ all of this was, anything..! He took a few shaky breaths to calm himself. _No, I can’t lash out here. What would that accomplish? I must be patient and let Team Plasma do their part, and in time, change_ will _come._

It was then that he heard a sound, a faint rumbling, seemingly from nowhere. “What..?” he muttered aloud, looking around. All the other people in the museum were just having their typical meaningless, puerile conversations, gawking at the exhibits like slack-jawed idiots, none appeared to be making that sound, nor did they seem to hear it. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Hmm… I must be hearing things,” he said to himself. 

However, the noise continued, growing louder until it was like thunder in his mind, causing N to wince in pain and grasp at his head. He placed a hand against the Marowak exhibit’s information placard for support, looking around. Surely the noise must be coming from somewhere! And then he saw it. Tucked away in the upper-left corner of the room, sitting upon a white, chest-high pedestal, was a black, spherical stone, with three notches carved into it. N’s eyes went wide as dinner plates. _It can’t be!_

Stunned, the green-haired young man walked quickly over to it, now ignoring the rumbling noise in his head, which grew louder the closer he drew to the stone. As if in a trance, he reached out a hand to touch it, only for someone to grab his arm and lower it. 

“Sir, we’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch the exhibits,” the bespectacled man who had grabbed his arm said. A name tag on his suit jacket read, ‘Hawes’. 

Fury blazed in N’s eyes. He used a quick martial arts technique to free his appendage from the man’s grasp, visibly shocking him. “That is no exhibit,” N hissed. “And if you don’t know what it is… then you are not worthy of having it here.” 

With that, N stormed out of the museum, leaving a very confused Hawes in his wake. 

Hilbert checked his watch as he neared the museum. _Good, it’s only three o’clock,_ he thought. _Thought I had less time than that. I should make it with time to spare!_ He slowed his pace to a walk as he went up to the glass double doors, hand reaching to open them… and then he froze, breath catching in his throat. There, on the other side of the glass, staring right at him, was the green-haired guy from Accumula. 

He gasped in horror and stumbled back a few steps like the doors had burned him, N casually opening them and walking out. He grinned, but there was no friendliness behind it.

“You again,” Hilbert breathed. 

“Hm, it seems I was right when I said in Accumula Town that we would meet again, Hilbert,” N said without missing a beat. “And right in front of this monument to humanity’s hubris called a museum, to boot. All those so-called ‘exhibits’ in there… I find it quite nauseating, to tell the truth.” 

_As if he wasn’t weird enough before…_ Hilbert thought. Regaining his senses after the initial shock, he said, “What the hell are you doing here?” 

“I… couldn’t tell you,” N said absentmindedly, shrugging. “Perhaps it’s because I wanted to see how deep this world’s corruption truly went. Perhaps it’s because I _needed_ to see that, to give me greater motivation to change things for the better.” 

Hilbert just sighed, knowing this conversation was going nowhere, and he was never going to get an answer that made any sense from the freak. “Look, N. If you’re just going to answer in riddles, then get outta my way. I’m here to challenge the Gym, not stand around and talk.” 

He started to shoulder past the older boy, but was stopped when N grabbed his arm with an iron grip and pushed him backwards, causing Hilbert to cry out in surprise and stumble a few steps. “What the hell!?” Hilbert yelled. “What’s your damn problem!?” 

“And still, you fail to see,” N muttered. “You just continue to enable the system I want to change. Even since I last saw you, you’ve caught another Pokemon- a Drilbur, by the sound of its voice.” 

“Wha- how the fuck did you know that!? There’s no _way_ you were following me all the way from Accumula!” 

“I wasn’t, Hilbert. But I can see things no one can see, hear things no one else can hear. I wasn’t lying when I said I can hear the voices of Pokemon. Did you think I was? Sorry to say, my abilities are very real. Now, let me ask _you_ a question for once: Do you dream of a future in which Pokemon have become perfect? In which people no longer abuse them and enslave them, and in which humans and Pokemon are equals? I know I do. More than _anything.”_

An expression so thoroughly dumbfounded on his face he feared his muscles would be frozen like that forever, Hilbert managed a weak, “...What in the actual hell are you even talking about..? Just… _what?”_

It was N’s turn to sigh. “Apparently you don’t. I suppose that’s obvious, but it is disappointing nonetheless.” 

Hilbert shook his head, hoping to clear his mind, to come back to reality and escape the fantasy land N seemingly lived in and was apparently trying to drag him into. “Well, one thing is obvious: You’re not moving unless I make you.” Taking Logan’s Poke Ball off his belt and enlarging it, he said determinedly, "I challenge you to a battle." 

N looked down, dejected. “Very well,” he said at last. “Much as I don’t want to, I know that a challenge between Trainers can’t be turned down. If you want a battle, you’ll have it.” 

Hilbert backed up about fifteen feet as N pulled a Poke Ball from the small of his back. “Logan, go!” Hilbert yelled. 

“Pidove, get out there, my friend! Do your best!” N said, throwing out the Pigeon Pokemon. Pidove was a small, avian Pokemon that was mostly gray. It had golden eyes with black pupils, and a short, black beak, and black wings with a gray stripe on each. There was a light-gray, wide heart-shape on its torso, and its feet were pink with small black talons. 

The two Pokemon stared each other down, waiting for their Trainers to give them a command. 

Hilbert made the first move. “Logan, Bite!” 

Logan raced for the Pidove, opening his maw to chomp down on the Normal/Flying-type. This turned out to be a mistake, as Pidove’s eyes glowed the trademark red of Leer, stopping Logan in his tracks. The Pigeon Pokemon then flapped its wings, rising up a foot off the ground and generating a Gust attack, the burst of wind hitting Logan like a physical force. He yipped as he was struck dead-on in the face. 

Pidove wasn’t done, though. It landed, and moving so fast it was a blur, rammed into Logan with a Quick Attack, sending him tumbling back towards Hilbert. 

Hilbert grit his teeth. _Okay, new plan,_ he thought. He looked at Logan. “Work Up!” he said. 

Logan obeyed, his body undergoing the strange jackhammer-like vibration of Work Up, the red aura surrounding him for a few seconds to indicate the boost to both attack stats. 

N’s eyes hardened. “Work Up… the T M from the Striaton City Gym. So not only have you captured and enslaved Pokemon, you have tampered with their naturally learned movesets… what other crimes against these wonderful creatures will you and others like you commit next?” 

“ _They’re not crimes!”_ Hilbert shouted. “ _You_ just think they are because you’re fucking _delusional!_ Logan, Bite that Pidove! _Now!”_

Growing, Logan ran toward the Pidove, his jaws opening. Shocked by the ferocity it saw in the Puppy Pokemon’s eyes, Pidove could do little more than chirp in fear as Logan bore down on it. Logan bit down on its head hard, tossing it away. Pidove somewhat nimbly recovered by using its wings to stop it from crashing into the ground, but looked quite unstable on its feet. 

That instability became unconsciousness as Logan slammed it with Tackle, sending it right into the museum’s doors with a loud _THUD,_ giving the attendant at the front desk a start. 

“Pidove, return!” N cried, recalling Pidove to its Poke Ball. He plucked the second Poke Ball from behind his back, throwing it out. “Tympole, go!” 

The Pokemon that emerged from the Ball was obviously a Water-type, though quite the strange-looking one. It was primarily black and blue, but it had a circular, tan face that looked disturbing for how human it seemed. Its ‘body’ was mostly its head, but there were two blue half-spheres where human ears would be, and it had a blue, tadpole-like tail. 

“Let’s take this thing out quickly, Logan!” Hilbert said. “Work Up, again!” 

Logan once again vibrated like a jackhammer, boosting its attack and special attack by yet another stage, taking it into superpowered territory- for its level, at least. 

N just scoffed. “You should think twice about trying to brute force your way through your opponents, Hilbert. Tympole, Supersonic!” he shouted, marking the first time Hilbert had heard him give a command to his Pokemon. 

Tympole opened its mouth and shot a series of circular soundwaves at Logan. Though neither Hilbert nor N could hear them, to the Puppy Pokemon they were pure torture. They caused a painful ringing in his ears that made the world go distorted, like looking through a kaleidoscope. Tympole and N appeared to multiply. 

Hilbert let out a sharp breath as he saw Logan begin to wobble on his feet like a drunken man, seeming unable to take a single steady step. “Uh, Logan, you good?” he asked uncertainly. “If you’re in there, use Bite on that Tympole!” 

To Hilbert’s utter horror, Logan took a few wobbly steps forward… and then bashed his head against the concrete ground, doing considerable damage thanks to his two attack boosts, bringing him to the brink of unconsciousness. 

Tympole took advantage of its opponent’s weakened state, shooting a stream of bubbles out of its mouth. The Bubblebeam was more than sufficient to knock Logan out. 

“Dammit!” Hilbert yelled, returning his Lillipup. _No way Scrapper’s gonna be able to stand up to a Water-type. That means Maru’s my only option here. I just have to make him avoid those Supersonics no matter what!_ Taking his starter’s Poke Ball off his belt, he yelled, “Go, Maru!” 

The Oshawott materialized as the Poke Ball opened, taking a defiant stance. Tympole once more opened its mouth for a Supersonic, which Maru dove away from, avoiding it. 

Maru retaliated by spraying a Water Gun attack at Tympole. Though the move did little damage, it gave him the opening he needed to use Focus Energy. Maru was surrounded by the yellow pillars of light, raising his critical hit rate like the battle with Cheren’s Snivy on Route 3. 

“Cut, now!” Hilbert yelled. Maru popped the seashell off its belly and ran forward, but Tympole was ready. It opened its mouth and belted out a high-pitched cry for a Round attack, causing both Hilbert and Maru to cover their ears in pain. 

N, however, seemed unaffected. “Pokemon sing such sweet songs, if only people would but listen to them.” 

The Tympole’s audio assault continued, and physical music notes formed, flying towards Maru and striking him hard, knocking him onto his back. Maru hopped to his feet, letting out another Water Gun, striking the Tympole with a critical hit. This gave him just enough time to run up to the Tadpole Pokemon and use Cut, knocking it out. 

Without a word, but a look of rage on his face, N returned the Tympole, and pulled out his third, and apparently final, Poke Ball. “Go, Timburr!” 

The Pokemon N threw out was clearly a Fighting-type, but a very unusual looking one. It was bipedal and gray, with bulbous protrusions adorning the front and back of its head. It had pink bulges that resembled muscle fibres or veins on various points on its body, like its upper legs and around its shoulders, and it carried a big square log. 

Maru charged forward, brandishing its seashell, but Timburr was ready. Its eyes glowed the telltale red of Leer, freezing the Oshawott in place, giving it time to run up and deliver a Low Kick to Maru’s right leg, knocking him over. Maru shot a Water Gun in response, blasting the Timburr back a ways, but it was far from enough. 

Golden pillars then surrounded the Timburr, and Hilbert’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit! It’s using Focus Energy! Maru, keep using Water Gun! Keep that thing away from you!” 

Maru did as he was told, spitting burst after burst of water at the Timburr. It ducked, weaved, and zigzagged as it made its way towards the Sea Otter Pokemon, but it couldn’t dodge everything, and was hit twice, the second hit being a critical. 

When it was two feet away, Timburr jumped, sliding like a baseball player into Oshawott’s legs just as one last Water Gun connected. The two Pokemon were knocked out simultaneously. 

Beads of sweat dripped down Hilbert’s temples as both he and N recalled their respective Pokemon. _I won, but only by default,_ he thought. _Holy crap, that was close._

“It looks like I cannot change the world yet,” N said. “Not with the power I have at this time, but…” he looked back at the museum, “With the opposite twin of the artifact inside this building, maybe I can…” 

Hilbert walked up to him, Trainer Card in hand. “What’re you muttering about?” he said angrily. “I won, so gimme my prize money and get out of my way.” 

For a second, a glimpse of something dark flashed in N’s eyes, but then it passed. “Very well,” he said, dipping his hand into one pocket of his beige jeans and pulling out his Trainer Card, tapping it against Hilbert’s. “I must thank you, Hilbert.” 

“Yeah? And why’s that?” Hilbert said, clearly losing patience with him. 

“For showing me that I’m not yet strong enough to save all Pokemon,” N said. He began to walk away, headed west, still talking. “I need more power… the type that will _make_ people see. I know the legends of this region… how the twin heroes, along with the Legendary Pokemon, created Unova, and it’s high time for a rebirth… a baptism by flames. I must become one of the new heroes, and summon Reshiram to my side!” 

“You’re fucking _crazy,_ you know that, right!?” Hilbert yelled angrily after him. “Unova doesn’t need a damn thing, least of all from a psycho like you!” 

N, however, didn’t hear a word of what Hilbert said, so lost in his thoughts was he. _Could Hilbert be my greatest adversary in my attempts to make Pokemon perfect beings? I must know if he is worthy to face me in battle once I have Reshiram! I will then defeat him, and all of Unova will do as I say!_

Hilbert rubbed his face as N went out of sight. “That guy just does not get it, does he?” he growled to himself. “And because of that battle, I can’t take on the Gym right now! Dammit!” 

Without wasting any more time, Hilbert ran in the direction of the Pokemon Center, but on the way there, he realized something. _Some of those Pokemon N used were the same species Team Plasma showed off at their rally in Accumula! I don’t know if that’s a coincidence, but right now it doesn’t matter. I gotta double-time it!_

He made it back to the Pokemon Center in record time, practically threw his Poke Balls at the nurse, and when the healing process was done, ran out of the building like a shot, making a beeline for the museum once more. 

His forehead was slick with sweat from exertion by the time he made it there, but his leg muscles didn’t feel like any lactic acid had built up in them at all. _Damn, these shoes really work,_ he thought. _I owe Mom big time._

He opened the glass doors to the museum, and walked inside. The first thing he saw, and the dominating feature of the entire building, was the gigantic Pokemon skeleton exhibit dead ahead of him. “Wow,” he breathed.

There was a counter with an attendant behind it to his right, and she noticed him right away, waving him over. “Hello, young man. Here to look around, or challenge the Gym?” 

“I was gonna say the Gym, but after seeing that, I guess both,” Hilbert said, pointing to the Pokemon skeleton. 

“Fair enough. Just keep in mind, we close at six, but the Gym will stay open for as long as need be when there’s a challenger in it.” 

Hilbert checked his watch. It was currently approaching four in the afternoon. _Alright, good, I’ve got plenty of time._

He started to walk away, but the attendant spoke up again. “Oh, and by the way, if you ever find any Pokemon Fossils, bring them to me. I can revive them using a machine we have in the room behind me.” She gestured to a door behind the counter. At Hilbert’s amazed expression, she giggled. “Oh, it’s nothing to be in awe over, trust me. The world’s been able to do this for decades, even before Red was born. If you’re wondering why we don’t just revive that big skeleton, it’s because we wouldn’t want a Pokemon _that_ huge stomping around the city, would we?” 

“I’ll remember that. Thanks.” 

Hilbert went right up the Pokemon skeleton, letting out a low whistle. It was clearly the bones of a Dragon-type of some kind, but Hilbert couldn’t put his finger on which one at the moment. The museum was laid out in a rough square shape, with the exhibits along the walls and corners. Blue carpet covered the museum’s white tile flooring. 

He heard footsteps walk up beside him and stop, and a voice said, “It’s a beauty, isn’t it? This skeleton is our museum’s pride and joy. Y’know, every time I look at it, I find myself… fascinated.”

“Yeah, it is,” Hilbert said, turning his head to look at the man who spoke. He was wearing a green plaid suit and gray pants, and wore glasses. A name tag on his suit jacket read, ‘Hawes’. “What is it?” 

“This is the skeleton of an ancient Dragonite recovered near Icirrus City a few decades ago. No one knows how it got there or why, but still. It’s pretty incredible.” 

“You don’t say…” Hilbert said absentmindedly. 

“Oh, where are my manners?” Hawes said. He extended a hand towards Hilbert. “My name is Hawes. I’m the Assistant Director of this museum.” 

“Name’s Hilbert. I’m here to challenge the Gym.” 

“Oh, you are? It’s back there, beyond that doorway,” Hawes said, pointing to a short flight of stairs at the rear of the room. “But, before you go, do you want me to give you a look around this place?” 

“Sure,” Hilbert smiled. “I’m not really much for history, but maybe you’ll change my mind.” 

“Alright, follow me,” Hawes said. 

The resulting tour took about ten minutes, Hawes going from exhibit to exhibit, giving a brief explanation of what everything was. The museum had several interesting things, from a small meteorite that apparently contained some sort of energy from space, to a fossil of an ancient Pokemon from Hoenn called Armaldo (“the world’s best preserved example of such,” Hawes had boasted proudly), to a collection of armour used by Pokemon in Unova’s civil war thousands of years ago. 

“And last, we come to our museum’s last, and most unremarkable exhibit,” Hawes said, stopping in front of a pedestal. “An ordinary carved piece of obsidian. We don’t really know what it is, but it was found with the collection of Pokemon armour out in the Desert Resort past Castelia.” He chuckled. “To tell the truth, we just display it because it looks pretty.” 

Hilbert, however, was deaf to what Hawes was saying. His eyes narrowed looking at the spherical rock, like it was going to jump off its pedestal and attack him. He then became aware of a rumbling noise in his head, a very faint one, but it quickly grew louder. It almost sounded like… thunder. His arm raised of its own accord, reaching for the stone to touch it. 

Hawes, seeing this, quickly grabbed Hilbert’s arm, just like he had done with N. This sudden contact broke Hilbert out of his apparent trance, bringing him back to reality. “Sorry for the contact, but we have a strict policy against guests touching the exhibits,” Hawes said, letting go of Hilbert’s arm. 

“Sorry…” Hilbert said, breathing heavily. “Don’t know… don’t know what came over me there.” 

Hawes frowned, pursing his lips, but said nothing more of it. 

“Anyway, I think it’s high time I challenged the Gym,” Hilbert said, walking towards the stairs. 

“Good luck!” Hawes said after him. “If you’re not prepared, Lenora will give you a good thrashing! I should know- she’s my wife, after all!” 

Hilbert just smirked and walked into the doorway. 

Drumming his fingers against the umpteenth bookshelf, the boy considered his options. Lenora’s Gym doubled as the museum’s library, and was a sliding-bookshelf puzzle, the goal being to uncover the entrance to the underground room where Lenora’s battle arena was. The place, like Striaton Gym before it, employed other Trainers to give challengers a warmup before the Leader. He had already defeated all three, though, bringing some of his Pokemon’s levels up a bit. 

Lillipup had grown to level 14, but sadly, did not learn any new moves. The same was true of Drilbur, who was now level 14 as well. Maru stayed where he was. 

_Alright, I’ve already pushed the other bookshelves where they need to go… I_ hope, he thought. _So that means I just have to push this one forward and I’ll be good to go!_

Giving a mighty shove, he pushed the shelf, moving it in its well-greased tracks embedded into the floor. The bookshelf slammed into the back wall, causing the books on it to wobble. He looked at the space where the bookshelf had been, and grinned. There in the floor, was the square entrance to the underground battle arena, complete with a flight of stairs. 

“Alright, Lenora… ready or not, here I come,” he said to himself, confident that the Gym Badge was as good as his, beginning his descent into the battle room. 


	11. Chapter 11: Plasma Strikes Again

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 11: Plasma Strikes Again**

Hilbert sighed and sat down in the damp grass next to his now-evolved starter while his other Pokemon were engaging in mock battle about twenty feet away. 

“What are we gonna do, Maru?” he said despondently. “We’re running outta money after yesterday’s battle, and if we lose again…” he sighed once more, at a loss for what to do. 

It had been two days since Hilbert’s first disastrous battle with Lenora. The boy had gone in thinking he was ready, and he paid dearly for that hubris. Though Lenora had two Pokemon for the fight, she only needed to use her first, a Herdier, Lillipup’s evolved form, to sweep him. The loss resulted in him having to give up a good chunk of his earnings thus far, but motivated him to do better the next time. He had diligently grinded his Pokemon up to be at least _almost_ on par with Lenora’s the next day, and it was during this training that Maru and Logan had evolved. 

Maru was now a Dewott, having evolved at level 17, and was now level 18. He had learned the move Razor Shell, a base 75 power Water-type attack that Hilbert used to replace Tackle, right after he evolved.

Dewott was a bipedal Pokemon that, like its previous evolution Oshawott, resembled an otter and was primarily light blue. It had whiskers on either side of its ovoid head that formed sideways V-shapes. It had small black ears, black fur on its three-fingered hands that almost resembled gloves in a way, and a tiny red nose. Around its waist was a dark blue, fringed piece of fur with two of the seashells attached to the thighs. 

Meanwhile, Logan had evolved into Herdier only one level earlier at level 16, and one level before _that,_ had learned the powerful Take Down, a 90 base power Normal-type move that made Tackle virtually obsolete. Unfortunately, it came with a drawback: recoil damage. For every time it connected, it did damage to Logan equal to one-fourth the damage he dealt to his opponent. Therefore, it was a move to use only in desperate situations, when the chips were _really_ down. 

Herdier was a canine Pokemon that looked far more mature and grown up than Lillipup. It was mostly covered in a coat of surprisingly firm dark blue fur, though its legs and were uncovered and the fur there was the colour of brown sugar. There was a scruffy bunch of fur on its face that was cream-coloured and formed a three-pointed crest. 

As for Drilbur, he hadn’t evolved, but was level 17, the same as Logan, and _had_ learned Metal Claw at level 15, Hilbert overwriting the useless Mud-Slap with the far more powerful move. 

With his new-and-improved Pokemon in tow, he went back to the Gym… only to meet the exact same result. He had gotten past Lenora’s Herdier this time, but then… that Watchog. That damnable Watchog. Watchog was the evolution of the Pokemon Hilbert was sick of seeing by now, Patrat, and Lenora’s particular one knew a move called Retaliate- his downfall in his last battle, and the new bane of his existence. As he had been told by Lenora, Retaliate was a 70 base power Normal-type move that _doubled_ in power when used to avenge a fainted ally. This, combined with the Watchog knowing Hypnosis, a move that inflicted sleep, and Hilbert was at the aforementioned loss for what to do. 

Making matters worse, Cheren actually _had_ beaten Lenora on his first try, thanks to Retaliate somehow _missing,_ giving Cheren more than enough right to brag, and brag he did. He had also mentioned something about a ‘faint rumbling’ he heard afterward, whereas Hilbert heard no such thing again going into the museum for his second fight. 

“I don’t know, Maru,” Hilbert said to his starter, taking off his cap and running a hand through his hair. “I already used two of those three Chesto Berries last time, and if I use the last one for nothing, we’re well and truly screwed. At least this cut on my face is healing nicely. Don’t even need the band-aid on it anymore.” 

Currently, he was south of Nacrene, on the outskirts of a place called Pinwheel Forest, a 1729 acre (about seven square kilometres, or 4 miles) forest that separated Nacrene from the ocean to the south. He had heard from the chatter in the Pokemon Center that many Pokemon made their habitats in the wet, deforested field where he was, including several Fighting-types, but so far, he hadn’t found any but Timburr, and unfortunately, as he recently learned, Timburr didn’t evolve into its final form, Conkeldurr, unless it was traded with someone else. Hilbert didn’t even _begin_ to understand how that worked. Deeper in the woods lived plentiful Bug-types, but they wouldn’t help him out any more than Timburr would against Lenora. 

Hilbert was pulled out of his musings by the sound of Scrapper crying out. He looked up and saw Logan had the claws of the Drilbur’s left arm clamped firmly between his teeth. 

“Dammit,” the boy muttered. He stood up, wiping dirt off the backside of his jeans, and returned his starter to its Poke Ball, walking over to his other team members. “Scrapper, we’ve been over this,” he chastised his Pokemon. “If Logan does that, use Metal Claw with your other claw. It’ll break Logan’s hold on you. It’s especially important because we know Lenora’s Herdier has Bite.” His mind briefly flashed back to when the Herdier used the move to knock Scrapper out the first time, losing him the match. 

He returned his Pokemon to their Poke Balls, and began his walk back to Nacrene, when he heard it. A rhythmic, steady, _thud, thud, thud_ from somewhere deeper in the forest. “What the..?” Hilbert said, turning around and heading in the direction of the noise. He entered the forest, going about twenty feet into the treeline, when he saw the source of the thudding, and with a quiet gasp of fear, ducked behind a tree. 

The thudding was being caused by a Sawk, a powerful Fighting-type. It was hitting a tree with repeated, alternating punches, causing the tree to shake with each blow. Sawk was a humanoid Pokemon with blue skin and an oblong head. Though Hilbert couldn’t see it from his hidden position, it had a black zigzag shape on its face that formed a left brow and nose of sorts. It wore a white karate gi, complete with black belt, and its hands and feet each had three digits. 

His heart pounding, Hilbert quickly peeked around the tree and then retracted his head. _Dammit, what do I do?_ he thought. _I probably can’t run without it noticing me, and I’ve heard the talk of how dangerous these things are. Then again… if I could catch it, Lenora’s Badge is as good as mine…_

Taking a deep breath, he took Maru’s Poke Ball off his belt and expanded it, stepping out from behind the tree. “Maru, Water Gun!” he shouted, throwing out the Ball. 

Before the Sawk could react, Maru had landed and sprayed a jet of water out of his mouth at the Karate Pokemon. The Sawk was knocked against the tree by the attack, but quickly got up and whirled around, fury blazing in its eyes. It ran towards Maru with frightening speed, forcing the Discipline Pokemon to fire another Water Gun while Hilbert took a Poke Ball out of his bag. Having sold three of the ones of the ones Juniper gave him on Route 1, this and a Great Ball were all he had. 

He whipped his head up as he heard Matu cry out in panic. The Sawk was now on top of him, and spun around on its heel, lashing out with its legs to deliver a brutal Double Kick attack. The move caught Maru right on the side of the head, sending him flying a good ten feet away. 

“Maru!” Hilbert cried out in concern. _Oh, this was a really bad idea,_ he thought. He gulped as the Sawk stomped towards him, its fists clenched. _Oh crap._ With little choice, he threw the Poke Ball, voicing a silent prayer that this would work. 

The Sawk’s eyes just barely had time to widen in shock before it was sucked into the Ball in a flash of energy. His heart pounding, Hilbert cautiously edged closer to the Poke Ball, body turned in a diagonal orientation as it wiggled on the ground. One shake… two shakes… Suddenly and without warning, the ball burst open with enough force to turn it into shrapnel. 

It was the position of Hilbert’s body that saved his life. Had he been facing the Ball head-on, the metal shards would have embedded themselves in his chest and killed him instantly. As it was, only one piece hit him, slicing across his right arm, ripping through fabric and flesh alike, almost cutting the artery in his bicep. “Ah!” he cried out in pain and shock, his left hand instinctively grabbing his arm to cover the wound, blood immediately wetting his palm. 

Worse, the Sawk was now freed, and very, _very_ angry. It ran up to Hilbert and pushed him over, the boy crying out again as he hit the ground. He desperately tried to scoot backwards as the Sawk reared back one of its legs to deliver a skull-cracking kick to his lower jaw, when a blue blur slammed into the wild Pokemon from the side. It was Maru! The Dewott then followed up by pouncing on the Sawk, slashing at it with Razor Shell as Hilbert got to his feet. 

Doing his best to fight the pain, Hilbert fished his lone Great Ball from his bag and tossed it at the Sawk. Once more, the Pokemon was sucked into the Ball (much to Maru’s confusion) and it began to shake. Once… twice… three times… then with an audible _click,_ the Sawk was caught. 

“Agh… fuck!” Hilbert said through clenched teeth, gripping his injured arm tightly. “That could have gone fuckin’ smoother.” 

Maru let out a concerned-sounding chattering noise, pointing to Hilbert’s wound. “Yeah, I don’t think the pack of bandages I have is gonna cut it for this either, bud,” Hilbert said. “I’m gonna need medical attention. Problem is, we’re a ways away from the damn Pokemon Center. Gotta try to get there, though.” He returned his starter to his Poke Ball and picked up the Great Ball containing the newly-caught Sawk. _I’ll worry about nicknaming this guy and checking his moves and level later, right now I gotta book it!_

By the time Hilbert made it to the point where the Pokemon Center was in view, the right sleeve of his jacket was soaked in blood, and his breathing was laboured. Every step felt like weights were attached to his ankles. His grip on consciousness was tenuous at best by the time he actually made it inside the structure’s automatic sliding doors. The nurse on staff gasped in horror at seeing the injured boy stumble into the building, blood dripping onto the floor. She quickly called for a room in the hospital wing to be made ready, then ran out from behind the counter to assist Hilbert. 

The boy nearly collapsed just as the nurse made it to him to support him. She was alarmed at how pale he looked. “What happened to you?” she asked. 

“I’ll… explain… later…” Hilbert managed to gasp out. “Just… get me… medical attention.” 

The sound of urgent footsteps alerted the nurse, and she turned her head towards the mezzanine stairways, seeing other Pokemon Center staff carrying a stretcher coming down the stairs. “Wish granted,” she said as the two doctors took Hilbert from her and lifted him onto the stretcher, taking him up to the human hospital wing. The next two minutes were a blur for Hilbert as he was brought into a hospital room just before he finally succumbed to exhaustion and blood loss and passed out. 

Several hours later, he awoke. Groaning, he rubbed his face with one hand, his senses slowly returning. Still groggy, he blinked several times, trying to sit up. 

“Careful there,” a voice to his left said. Hilbert looked in that direction, seeing it was the nurse from the downstairs counter. 

“Wh...what happened?” he groaned. 

“A lot, to put it simply,” the nurse replied. “You lost a lot of blood, young man. We had to give you a transfusion after stitching that wound on your arm shut.” 

“Wha..?” Lifting his right arm, he saw that it had bandages wrapped around the bicep where his injury was. Underneath those were his stitched-shut wound. “Oh… Oh, fuck.” 

“That’s… one way of putting it,” the nurse said. “And I think you owe me an explanation. What happened out there to make you stumble in here with your arm covered in blood?” 

“Trying… trying to catch a Sawk,” Hilbert said. “It burst out of the first Poke Ball I threw with more force than I thought… Poke Ball exploded, a bit of shrapnel hit me in the arm.” 

“Then you’re lucky to be alive,” the nurse said. “I’ve seen the remains of those foolish enough to interrupt a Sawk or Throh’s training session. Only one of them still had an intact skull. The other two… you don’t want to know. Those Pokemon’s base attack stats are through the roof.” 

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Hilbert said. “So what now?” 

“All things considered, you got off light with the risk you took,” the nurse explained. “You should be fine in a few more days, and we’ll let you out tomorrow. Just keep bandages on the stitched area, and keep it clean. Also be sure to change them every once in a while. Were you carrying any medical supplies with you when you got that injury?” 

“Yeah, but I don’t think a little pack of adhesive bandages would have helped with something this severe.” 

The nurse pursed her lips. “True. I’d highly recommend you buy some proper gauze from the store downstairs before you leave tomorrow, just in case. You don’t know how many Trainers recklessly travel without any medical supplies at all, and it gets them killed. You’re just of the lucky ones that survived that recklessness. I’ll let you get some rest.” 

The nurse walked out of the room, and Hilbert closed his eyes, falling asleep. 

The next day, Hilbert walked out of the Pokemon Center. Having showered and with deodorant applied under his arms, he felt clean and refreshed. His bloodstained jacket was slung over his shoulder. The Center staff had given him instructions on how to care for his wound, which meant changing the bandages often to avoid getting the injury infected, and to go to any Pokemon Center later on to have the stitches removed. A roll of gauze was now safely tucked away in his bag. 

“Alright, first things first,” he said to himself. “Buying a new jacket.” Thankfully, Nacrene, being the trendy and fashionable place it was, had plenty of clothing shops, so he was easily able to find and purchase a replacement. Clothing was relatively cheap in Unova, unlike a region like Kalos, where the prices were borderline outrageous. The only difference between his old jacket and his new one was that the new one had a zip-on, detachable hood that was slightly bulkier, whereas the old one’s was permanently attached. He threw his ruined jacket in the nearest trash can he could find. 

After that was done, he walked towards the museum once more, this time determined to succeed. On the way there, he finally checked his new team member’s stats, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head once he saw them in the Pokédex. _H-holy crap,_ he thought. _Base 125 attack!? 85 speed!? That’s nuts! This thing’s equivalent to a fully evolved Pokemon!_

In terms of level, the Sawk was ready to go, being at level 14, but its moves were not that great, knowing Leer, Bide, Focus Energy, and the one that really interested Hilbert, the Fighting-type Double Kick. He plucked the Pokemon’s Great Ball off his belt and held it up to his face. “I think I’ll call you Sensei,” he said. “Kinda fitting for the Karate Pokemon.” 

Reaching the museum, he gave Sensei the last Chesto Berry he had left. _If this doesn’t work, I’ll be completely outta options,_ he thought, walking inside the building. He made a beeline for the Gym proper, solving the bookshelf-sliding puzzle in record time, and went down the hidden staircase to the battle arena. 

The battle arena itself was an underground study, with Lenora’s desk near the back of the room, and the health bar screen situated above it on the wall. Bookshelves lined the walls, but Hilbert knew that thick glass panels slammed down to protect the precious paper records whenever a Pokemon battle started. 

Lenora, hearing the sound of descending footsteps, looked up. She was a tough woman in her early thirties with ebony skin and teal hair and wore a white, short-sleeved shirt with two red pockets on the chest, and teal jeans. A big beige apron, possibly to be worn on archeological digs, was slung over the back of her chair, but Hilbert had never seen her wear it. 

“Ah, back for more, huh?” she said tauntingly, standing up and walking around her desk. “You really are a glutton for punishment, Hilbert.” 

Hilbert grit his teeth, taking his position on the battleground. “Yeah, you can say that,” he growled. “Especially because I suffered and bled to catch the Pokemon that’ll beat you. So this time, it’s gonna be different! I’ll be the one kicking your ass this time, instead of the other way around!” 

Lenora just laughed, taking her Herdier’s Poke Ball off her belt and tossing it out as the health bar screen lit up and the glass panels slid down to cover the front of the bookshelves. 

Hilbert quickly considered his options as the enemy Pokemon stared him down, but ultimately chose to lead off with Maru, awkwardly throwing out the Ball with his left hand as opposed to his dominant right hand due to his injured arm. The Discipline Pokemon immediately leapt into action, blasting away with a Water Gun. The Herdier didn’t even attempt to dodge, and while the attack took off a chunk of its health, it didn’t even seem fazed, just shaking itself dry.

Hilbert gulped. _Uh, oh._

Lenora laughed again. “Is that all you’ve got? Herdier, show ‘em what _real_ power is! Leer, then Take Down!” 

“Shit!” Hilbert cried, his eyes going wide as the enemy Herdier’s glowed red, freezing Maru in place. It then charged forward, slamming into Maru with force that would have broken a human ribcage with little effort. Maru cried out as he was sent flying into the back wall, hitting it with sickening force. He landed hard, his health bar now on the cusp of turning yellow. Though the Herdier took a small chunk of damage from the recoil, its health bar was still more full than Maru’s. 

“Maru, get up!” Hilbert yelled, letting out a sigh of relief as his starter jumped back into the fray. “Focus Energy, let’s go!” 

Maru closed his eyes and concentrated, the golden pillars surrounding him, indicating a boost to his critical hit rate. 

“You’ve tried that same trick before and it didn’t work,” Lenora said, rolling her eyes. “What makes you think it will this time?” 

Not dignifying that with a reply, Hilbert merely yelled, “Maru, Razor Shell!” 

Maru took the seashells off his thighs and raced towards the Herdier, who did the same, opening its jaw for a Bite attack. Maru noticed the danger too late. He slashed and missed, the Herdier turning and pouncing on him, biting down hard. 

Maru yelled in pain, thrashing around underneath his opponent, his health bar going down into the mid-yellow. “Maru, come on!” Hilbert yelled. “Get it off you! Razor Shell!” 

Maru grit his teeth and slashed at the Herdier, hitting it in the side of the head. It yipped in pain, jumping off its enemy, its health bar going down to the yellow as well. 

_Dammit, Matu didn’t get the crit,_ Hilbert thought. _That would have knocked out that Herdier for sure!_

The Herdier growled, clearly angry. It ran towards Maru, building up speed for another Take Down. Maru just barely dodged out of the way, slashing at it as it went past. A small white glint appeared for a split second as its seashells made contact, indicating the critical hit. This was enough to knock out the Herdier, its health bar shooting down to nothing. 

Lenora didn’t seem afraid, though, only smirking as she recalled her first Pokemon to its Poke Ball and taking out her second one. “And here we are again,” she said. “You’ve been on this treadmill once before, Hilbert. Are you sure you can take it again?” 

“Like I said at the start, it’s gonna be different this time,” Hilbert spat, his tone dripping with rage. “So throw out that fucking Watchog already and let’s get this over with!” 

“Okay then, you asked for it,” Lenora smirked, which just made Hilbert’s blood boil further. “Go, Watchog!” 

Watchog was a meerkat-like Pokemon that stood on its hind legs. It was largely covered in reddish-brown fur, but there were yellow markings on its body that resembled a safety vest of some sort, with these same yellow markings ringing its tail just below the scruffy white tip. Its hands and feet were also white. There was a single, sharp tooth protruding from its mouth, and its cheeks were constantly puffed out. Its eyes were the same demonic red as its pre-evolution Patrat, but given they were now attached to a larger being, they somehow looked even _worse._

Hilbert’s mouth became a thin line as Lenora gave the command that even now caused his heart to skip a beat. “Watchog, Retaliate!” the Gym Leader called. 

A yellow glow surrounded the Lookout Pokemon, and then it charged forward. “Maru, don’t dodge!” Hilbert yelled. “You’ve gotta take this if we want any chance of winning!” 

Maru closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact as the Watchog rammed into him. He was sent flying into the south hardwood wall with enough force to crack it, but it didn’t matter. He’d been rendered unconscious upon the Watchog slamming into him. 

Even though he’d seen this twice before, Hilbert still winced at the sight of his starter being knocked out by the move. He quickly recalled Maru, taking Sensei’s Poke Ball off his belt. _This has to work,_ he thought, sending a silent prayer to the heavens. He threw out the Poke Ball in an awkward hooking motion with his left hand. “Go, Sensei!” 

Lenora was taken aback as she saw the Karate Pokemon materialize, letting out a guttural battle cry. _The crazy idiot actually caught a Sawk!?_ she thought, then she gave a small smirk. _He’s either got a lot of luck, or talent. If it’s the latter, I need to see it._ “Well, I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting this! Most people stay the hell away from Sawk and Throh. I think you’re the first one that’s ever been desperate enough to catch one to try and beat me! Unfortunately, as you know, I have countermeasures for brute force. Watchog, Hypnosis!” 

Watchog’s eyes turned completely red, and a strange energy beam shot from them, connecting with Sensei. His eyes closed and his head drooped as sleep overtook him. 

The yellow glow of Retaliate- Watchog’s best option against the Sawk- surrounded the Lookout Pokemon before it ran forward. Just then, a glow surrounded Sawk as well, and its eyes snapped open as the Chesto Berry Hilbert had given it took effect. His eyes glowed the telltale red of Leer, freezing the Watchog under his intimidating gaze. 

“Gotcha!” Hilbert cried. “Sensei, Double Kick, _now!”_

Sensei obeyed, running forward and spinning on his heel once he was close enough, giving a devastating kick right to the Watchog’s head, taking off half its health bar. Sensei then planted the kicking foot on the ground, and spun around on that heel, sending his other leg on a collision course with Watchog’s head. The blow landed, knocking the Lookout Pokemon off its feet, and out. 

Hilbert took a second to let the event sink in, and then the floodgates of excitement opened, even as his Pokédex pinged twice to let him know that Sensei had grown to level 16. “Yes! Yes! We won! Finally!” he ran up to his newest team member to shower it in praise. 

Lenora just smiled at the display and recalled her fainted Watchog. She walked up to Hilbert. “Looks like my hunch about you right now was right,” she said. “But you’re not just talented, Hilbert- you’re motivated! I have to admit, I salute you.” 

“Does this means I can have the Badge now?” Hilbert said, returning Sensei to his Poke Ball. 

“Absolutely,” Lenora said, taking the small piece of metal out of her pocket and tapping Trainer Cards with him to give him his prize money “This is the Basic Badge- a hard-earned one, in your case.” 

Hilbert examined the Badge. It, like the Trio Badge, was made of brass, but this one was a straight rectangle shape, with a purple inlay. Certain sections had tiny brass bars across them to create small squares in the inlaid purple section, looking almost like the spine of a book. 

"And take this, too," Lenora said. She took a TM jewel case out of her pocket, handing it to the boy. "This is TM67, and I think you know what it is."

"Yeah..." Hilbert said, grimacing.

Hilbert had just finished putting the Basic Badge away in his Badge Case, when frantic footsteps were heard, followed by Hawes running down the stairs so fast he almost tripped, shouting, “LENORA! DEEEAAAR!!” 

“What’s going on, honey!?” Lenora cried, running up to him. 

Breathing heavily, Hawes spewed the words out so fast they were an auditory blur. “TeamPlasma’sgoingtostealtheDragoniteskeleton!"

“What?” Lenora said, putting her hand on his shoulder to support him. “I didn’t understand that. Please say it more slowly.” 

“Team Plasma… upstairs…” Hawes panted, “Big group… Here to steal the big skeleton… They said it themselves…” 

“What!?” Lenora cried. “We gotta get up there and stop them, now! Hilbert, come on!” 

Without wasting any more time, she ran up the stairs leading out of the underground room, Hawes and Hilbert following her, Hilbert wondering all the while why the world had suddenly gone mad.


	12. Chapter 8: The Dreamyard

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 8: The Dreamyard**

Hilbert was on cloud nine as he knocked on the door to Fennel’s apartment. When she answered, he pulled out his Badge Case and opened it. “I got it,” he said, the Trio Badge gleaming in the hallway’s lights. 

“Yes!” Fennel exclaimed. “You can use Cut outside of battle now! Let’s go, let’s go! Aminita, you hold down the fort while I’m gone!” She immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hallway, raving about the experiments she planned to preform. For once, Hilbert didn’t complain. 

On the way there, he had checked his earnings from the Gym. To say the least, they were quite sizeable. _Those along with the four grand I’ll get from her will have me swimming in money!_ he thought. Along with that, given how Maru had leveled up before being knocked out by Pansage in the Gym, he looked at his Pokédex. It turned out, Maru was trying to learn a move called Focus Energy, which, according to its description, ‘raised the chances of critical hits’. 

“Fennel, what’s a critical hit?” he asked as they rode the elevator down. 

“Oh, that’s an attack that does double damage in a Pokemon battle,” Fennel replied. “They’re basically a non-issue unless you have a move that raises the chances of them happening, though.” 

_That definitely sounds better than Arceus-damned Water Sport,_ Hilbert thought, dragging the icon for Focus Energy over the one for Water Sport and tapping ‘Yes’ when asked if he wanted Oshawott to forget the useless move. 

Once outside, they got into Fennel’s car- a green sedan- parked near the curb. Fennel stuck the key into the ignition, and they were off, heading east at a leisurely pace. As they drove past the rows of apartment buildings, Hilbert perked his head up, his neck craning. On the sidewalk coming up, he could _swear_ he saw Bianca’s familiar orange vest and big green hat. “Slow down, slow down,” he said, lightly tapping his hand on Fennel’s arm. “I think I see my friend on the sidewalk up there.” 

“Oh, good!” Fennel said. “Maybe she’ll want to come with us, too?” She slowed her car to a crawl, Hilbert rolling down the window to call out to the person he was now sure was Bianca. 

“Bianca! Hey, Bianca!” Hilbert yelled as they pulled up alongside her. The girl visibly jumped and whirled around, but relaxed some when she saw it was him. 

“Hilbert?” she asked. “What are you doing? And who are you with?” 

“Oh, this is that scientist Professor Juniper told us to meet. Fennel, remember?” Hilbert said. Fennel gave Bianca a friendly wave from inside the car. 

“Oh… I completely forgot about that while we were going through Route 2…” Bianca said, looking downtrodden and somewhat ashamed. “It just slipped my mind in all the excitement, I guess…” 

“It’s fine, sweetie,” Fennel said. “Listen, we’re going to the Dreamyard to see if we can collect something there that’ll help me with my research! Want to come along?” 

“The Dreamyard? Yeah, that’s right, I was just heading there myself to look for more Pokemon to add to my team!” Bianca said. “Sure, I’ll come!” 

At Fennel’s beckoning, Bianca got into the backseat, and they were off once again. They drove for another two minutes or so, the buildings giving way to trees as they came to a large clearing in the forest beyond the city’s urban limits. There was a small gravel parking lot off to the side, which Fennel pulled into and killed the engine. All three of them could see the abandoned, decaying building as they got out. 

Decades ago, the building now known as the Dreamyard had been a factory, making precision machine parts for a company in Hoenn called Mauville Industrial Inc.. These parts were then shipped from Unova to Hoenn on a vessel called the S.S. Cactus. Unfortunately, the S.S. Cactus had accidentally ran itself aground on some rocks in Hoenn on Route 108 when Mauville Industrial was already on hard times. This began the company’s death spiral, and as a result the factory was abandoned and left to rot. 

However, the Dreamyard, it turned out, had a life after death. It was a popular place to shoot scenes for movies, be it the killers’ lairs in horror and slasher movies, used for a big battle with the aid of green screens in action movies, or even a post-apocalyptic setting for zombie movies and the like. Looking at it for the first time up-close and in-person, Hilbert had to admit, it definitely fit the last criteria best. The building- or what was left of it- was an absolute shambles, though it was surprisingly free of graffiti. 

The pleated metal roof had almost completely rusted away over the years save for a small section at the front, leaving behind a skeleton of rebar overhead, just barely held up by two of the three tall, crumbling walls, with the back wall reduced to rubble over the years. The concrete, without exception, was cracked and pitted, with plants and tall grass growing through said cracks, with rusty rebar being exposed at many points. A large fence had been put in place around the entire structure, with one section off to the left having been bent down at an angle, forming a makeshift ramp. However, thorny vines grew on this semi-collapsed part of fencing, deterring anyone from climbing it lest they suffer painful consequences. Smack in the middle was the main gate, currently sealed shut with a padlock and chain. 

As they got closer to the fence, they could see a Trainer who had his Pokemon out in mock battle against each other, as well as another girl looking through some tall grass a little ways off, but they ignored them. Unfortunately, the boy was not keen on doing the same. As soon as he saw them, he immediately recalled his Pokemon and ran over to them. 

“Hey! If any of you are Trainers, I challenge you to a battle!” he cried once he was within shouting distance of them.

Hilbert looked past him, noticing the girl was staring at them, and was now making her way towards them. _Oh, no,_ he thought, sighing. “Are you really sure you wanna do that? I mean, you’re outnumbered.” That hollow boast soon disintegrated as the boy looked around for a battle partner, and saw the girl walking up to him. 

“Um, hey, you wanna give me a hand here?” he called to her. 

“Alright, alright, just give me a second!” she yelled back, picking her pace up into a jog. Hilbert grit his teeth as the girl stood beside the boy. Obviously, this was going to turn into a time-wasting battle, but there was no way around it, either. 

“Now I’m not outnumbered,” the boy said with a cocky smirk as he pulled out a Poke Ball- one of three around his waist. The girl did the same, though she had only two Poke Balls. 

“Bianca, you ready?” Hilbert asked, pulling Maru’s Poke Ball off his belt and enlarging it by clicking its central button once. She nodded, taking a Poke Ball out of her purse. “Fennel? You mind backing up a bit? You don’t want to get caught in the crossfire here.” 

“Oh! Oh, okay!” Fennel said. “Sorry!” She then scampered off about ten feet. 

With Fennel safely out of the way, all of them threw out their Pokemon- Hilbert, Maru, Bianca, Taroko, the girl, a Purrloin, and the boy, a Patrat. However, before any attacks could be launched, the girl spoke up. “Wait! We haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Eri.” 

“Pleased to meet you, Eri, I’m Bianca,” Bianca said without missing a beat. 

“I’m Joey,” the boy said, which made Hilbert smirk. A Trainer named Joey had been one of Ethan’s first opponents on what would become his now-legendary journey across two regions. A rather quirky boy, Joey was always bragging to anyone who would listen (mostly Ethan) about his ‘top percentage Rattata’ even to the point of interrupting a press conference being held once Ethan had defeated Lance and claimed the Championship title for himself. 

Still smirking, Hilbert said, “I’m Hilbert, but I gotta ask, Joey… is that Patrat...in the top percentage of Patrat?” 

Joey’s expression and body language instantly went from placid to bristling with murderous hatred. “That’s _it!”_ he shouted. “I am friggin’ _sick_ of everyone making fun of me because of that bastard from Johto!” He whipped his gaze towards Eri. “Let’s kick their asses! I wanna send these two straight back to the Pokemon Center with their tails between their legs!” 

“O-okay…” Eri said, sounding somewhat scared at Joey’s wrathful outburst. 

“Patrat, Bite!” Joey yelled. The Patrat ran for Maru on all fours, while the Purrloin ran in a zigzag pattern of its own accord for Tepig. 

“Maru, Water Gun!” Hilbert commanded as the Patrat leapt for Oshawott. Maru opened his mouth and shot a blast of water at the Scout Pokemon, managing to spray it directly into its gaping maw. The Patrat’s huge red eyes opened even wider as it was shot backwards and began choking on the water. It landed hard on its back, coughing and spitting up liquid. 

“Ember!” Bianca said, but before Tepig could execute the attack, the Purrloin raked its claws along his side. Tepig cried out in pain. 

Much as he wanted to back up his friend, Hilbert had to keep up the offensive on the Patrat. “Maru, don’t let that Patrat get up!” he yelled. “Tackle it!”

Maru ran for the Patrat, who had just succeeded in ejecting all the water from its throat and was getting up, only to be slammed into by the Sea Otter Pokemon. This blow, thanks to Maru’s high level, was enough to knock out his opponent. Joey swore and tossed out his second Poke Ball, which contained another Patrat. “Seriously, does anyone use _anything_ other than fucking Patrat around here?” Hilbert grumbled under his breath. 

“Um, Hilbert, I could use a little help!” Bianca cried. Hilbert looked at her, noticing that Eri’s Purrloin was running circles around her Tepig and seemed to be about to attack again. 

“Get your Tepig out of there, then!” he yelled. “Gimme a clear shot!” He saw with immediate concern that Joey was grinning like a predatory animal, clearly waiting for the right moment to attack. 

“Taroko, Tackle!” Bianca yelled. Tepig bowed his head and rammed into the Purrloin as it raised its claws to swipe downward. That sent the Purrloin stumbling back, enough to give Maru a clear shot that wouldn’t hit Tepig. 

“Maru, Water Gun!” Hilbert yelled. Maru spat a stream of water at the Purrloin, hitting the dazed Devious Pokemon and knocking it out, but at the same time, leaving him open. It was this gap in Oshawott’s defenses that Joey’s second Patrat took advantage of. While the Sea Otter Pokemon was busy attacking Purrloin, Patrat had been running towards him, jaws open. The tactic worked. Maru cried out in pain as the Scout Pokemon bit down on his right arm. 

“Maru!” Hilbert cried angrily as Eri threw out her second and last Purrloin. “C’mon, get it off you! You know what to do!” 

A determined look blossomed in Maru’s eyes as he forced the pain to the back of his mind, gathering a powerful stream of water in his mouth and unleashing it at point-blank range like he had done so many times in the Striaton Gym. This blasted off the Patrat and sent it flying back ten feet. 

Tepig was quick to capitalize on this development, raising its head and shooting an Ember attack in the air like an artillery cannon. The flames flew in a high arc… and landed right on the Patrat, making it scream in pain and knocking it out. Bianca’s Pokedex let out a _ding!_ as her Tepig grew to level 9.

Fennel was watching all this with rapt attention, scribbling down notes into a small notebook with a pen. Her eyes flicked between the book and the battle so rapidly anyone looking at her would think she was possessed by an evil spirit. Truth be told, Fennel never had the guts to be a Pokemon Trainer herself, instead opting to study them as a researcher. It was a passion of hers that had never gone away. _So… fascinating!_ she thought. _Hilbert does seem to have more inherent skills between himself and Bianca, but she’s no slouch, either. Who knows the places they’ll go!_

Meanwhile, the duo had just finished up beating Eri’s Purrloin, leaving Joey’s final Pokemon, a Lillipup, all by its lonesome. Joey grit his teeth, preparing for his last stand. It was over in less than a minute-and-a-half. With the combination of Oshawott and Tepig tag-teaming him, the poor Lillipup didn’t stand a chance. With one final Tackle from Oshawott (causing him to grow to level 14) it was over. 

Eri and a none-too-pleased Joey then went up to their opponents to give them their money, but where Eri seemed relatively affable at the loss, Joey was fuming, and his face showed it. Still, Hilbert couldn’t help but get in one last jab as they tapped Trainer Cards. “I guess your Patrat weren’t in the top percent after all.” 

“ _Go fuck yourself,”_ Joey hissed venomously under his breath. Hilbert immediately grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him closer. 

“What did you say..?” Hilbert snarled. Bianca and Eri were too shocked by this turn of events to do anything. 

“I said, _go fuck yourself!”_ Joey shouted, and shoved Hilbert away with surprising strength, despite being a good year younger and two inches shorter than the five-foot-seven Hilbert. 

Hilbert stumbled back a few paces, but recovered, growling and clenching his fists. The beast that was his hair-trigger anger was rapidly slipping out of its shackles, and would have broken free and caused him to attack Joey, consequences be damned, had Fennel not spoken up. “That’s _enough!_ Both of you!” she shouted, running over. She grabbed Hilbert’s arm and pulled him away, much to his chagrin. “You _won._ It’s over. There’s no reason to be a sore winner and rub it in,” she scolded him. 

With a scoff and a tilt of his head towards Striaton, Joey gestured for he and Eri to leave the Dreamyard. They did so, quickly running away, leaving Hilbert, Bianca, and Fennel alone. Hilbert wrenched his arm free of Fennel’s grip. “Whatever, they’re gone now,” he huffed. “Let’s search for a Munna.” 

He walked over to the fence’s gates to inspect the lock and chain. Though the chain-link fencing was scuffed, worn and scratched, the lock and chain appeared new. So new, in fact, that the contrast was a bit suspicious. Adding to this suspicion was the fact that the lock was on the _interior,_ obviously meaning someone had locked it from the inside. “But why would someone do that..?” he muttered aloud to himself, placing his hands on the fence and giving them a quick shake. They didn’t budge.

Confused, he nevertheless went over to the bent section of fencing where Bianca and Fennel currently were. He pulled the Cut HM out of his bag and taught it to Maru, which was a rather strange and fiddly process of holding the disk to his Pokemon’s head while operating the Pokédex one-handed at the same time. He overwrote Tail Whip to have Maru learn Cut, but since he had never used the move, he was giving up literally nothing. He also taught Logan Work Up, because _anything_ was better than Odor Sleuth. 

“Alright, Maru,” he said, letting the Oshawott out again onto the fence, “Do your thing. Cut away those vines for us, would you?” 

Maru nodded, and with astonishing grace speed for such a small creature, took the seashell off its belly and sliced away at the vines. In less than twenty seconds, the fence was clear. Oshawott looked back at them and let out a happy chattering with its teeth. 

“Good job, buddy,” Hilbert said, returning him to his Poke Ball. “Now, we should probably take this one at a time, just in case. I’ll go first.” 

He gingerly stepped onto the fence. It creaked and groaned a little, bending down a bit more, but didn’t collapse- a good sign. _So far so good,_ he thought, slowly advancing upwards until he reached the top of the incline and hopped down into the factory’s grounds themselves. Fennel went next, followed by Bianca. Hilbert looked with a pang of regret at the fence. The top of the bent section was a good five feet off the ground- too high to simply step back onto. _Not gonna be easy getting out of here,_ he thought, sighing. _I wonder if Fennel had a plan for that or not._

Fennel, for her part, looked like a kid in a candy store, giddily prancing around and calling, “Munna! Oh, Munnaaaa! Come out, come out, wherever you are!” over and over again. 

Hilbert rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples, trying to stave off the coming anger. _I guess not,_ he thought, sighing again, this time with more bitterness behind it. 

Bianca, meanwhile, had her Lillipup, Pepper, out of her Poke Ball, and was saying to her, “Be a good girl, Pepper! Sniff out a Munna!” with the Lillipup walking around in circles, sniffing the ground to no avail. 

Hilbert just wandered to the back wall of the factory, past the rust stains on the cracked concrete ground where machinery had once been placed, now long gone. There were even a few holes in the floor back here. Hilbert kicked a pebble into one and heard the echo when it landed. 

_Definitely don’t wanna fall down there,_ he thought to himself. 

It was then that he heard it- a low-pitched, ethereal hum. He dismissed it at first, but then it rang out again, and he looked up. Beyond the destroyed back wall of the factory was a poorly-kept trail leading off to who-knew-where, but there, floating a few inches off the ground and coming closer, was a Pokemon. 

The Pokemon (Munna, perhaps?) was pink and nearly spherical, with four stubby limbs protruding from its body, and a short snout that hung down from what constituted as its ‘face’. Its eyes were red, ovoid, and glittered like gems, and there was a hole above its snout, but what purpose that served, Hilbert could only guess. Most strangely, markings that looked like purple flowers adorned its body in several places. 

“H-hey! Fennel! Fennel!” Hilbert cried as the Pokemon got ever closer. “C’mere, quick! I think I’ve found a Munna!” 

Fennel and Bianca immediately came running over to where he was, both gasping. “Aww, it’s so cute!” Bianca said. 

“Yes, that’s it!” Fennel cheered. “That’s a Munna!” She began slowly approaching the Dream Eater Pokemon, who by now had stopped moving. “Come on, sweetie, don’t be shy, come to Fennel…” 

She was so engrossed in sweet-talking the Munna that she didn’t see the danger until it was too late. Hilbert did, though, and with a noise of shock, yelled, “Fennel, look out!” as two uniformed people- a man and a woman- came barreling out of the treeline, one of them tackling the Munna football-style and the other ramming into Fennel, knocking her on her back before skidding to a stop. 

“Fennel!” Bianca cried in alarm as the woman groaned and pushed herself to her feet. “Are you okay!?” 

“I… I think so…” Fennel said. “But… who are these people?” 

“I think I know,” Hilbert said, recalling the conversation between those two men he had overheard in Striaton City. “They’re Team Plasma.” 

“Heh, so the kid knows about us,” the male Plasma grunt who had tackled the Munna chuckled. By now he was standing, the Dream Eater Pokemon held under one arm. It squealed in its ethereal way, squirming to get free. “So he also must know about glorious cause to liberate Pokemon from selfish Trainers! And this Munna here will help us do exactly that!” He slammed his free fist down on the Munna. “Now make some Dream Mist! _Now!”_

The Munna screamed in pain, struggling to get loose, but to no avail. “H-hey!” Fennel cried. “Don’t do that! You’ll hurt it!” She tried to make her way to the male grunt, but the female blocked her path and punched her in the face. With a cry of surprise and pain, she was sent back down to the cracked concrete ground. 

“ _Fennel!”_ Hilbert and Bianca yelled simultaneously, pulling the scientist to her feet. Fennel nursed an already-forming bruise on her cheek. 

“You better watch yourself around us, lady,” the female grunt hissed. “I could’ve done much worse. Consider that a warning shot.” 

_They aren’t acting like they did at that rally in Accumula Town,_ Hilbert thought. _What the hell is going on?_ His hand stealthily went down to Maru’s Poke Ball, fingers brushing the metal. 

“What is your _problem!?”_ Bianca yelled in an uncharacteristic display of anger. “You have _no right_ to do this! Any of it! Let that Munna go!” 

“Aw, the little girl wants to play hero,” the male grunt said mockingly. “I’m shaking in my boots.” He grabbed his sole Poke Ball off his belt. “I guess we’ll have to show her what happens when someone gets in the way of progress! Patrat, go! Bite her fuckin’ arms off!” 

He threw out his Poke Ball, the Patrat materializing and baring its teeth. Bianca screamed as the Scout Pokemon jumped for her, only for the Pokemon to get blasted back by a high-pressure stream of water. “Huh..?” Bianca said, even though she already knew what had saved her. She looked behind her, seeing a fuming Hilbert as his Oshawott ran back in front of him from where it had been off to the right to get a clear shot. 

“Rule number one, buddy,” Hilbert hissed through gritted teeth, “Don’t _ever_ attack my friends! Bianca, Fennel, get behind me!” 

“But I can-“ Bianca started, freezing up when she saw the intense look in Hilbert’s eyes. 

“ _NOW,_ dammit!” he yelled. Bianca gulped and ran behind Hilbert and Oshawott with Fennel. 

“Great, now we got two little tykes who think they can stop us,” the male grunt sighed, his Patrat hurrying to stand in front of him again. 

“Want me to help out?” his companion asked. 

“Nah, I can handle this little bastard on my own. Besides, stubborn kids need a reminder why they should have never left the playground! Patrat, Bite!” 

Baring its fangs once more and hissing, the Patrat ran in a zigzag pattern for Maru to present a harder target to hit, but it was useless. Maru simply aimed for where the Scout Pokemon was going to be rather than it was, and landed another Water Gun. The attack sent the Patrat reeling backwards, but it was not enough to knock it out. 

“Dammit!” the grunt yelled. “Leer, now!” 

The Patrat’s eyes turned completely crimson, freezing Maru in place long enough for the Patrat to run up and chomp down. That was a mistake. Using the technique he practically had mastered by now, Maru let loose with a point-blank Water Gun to blast his opponent off him and knock it out. 

“What the hell!?” the grunt yelled, nearly letting go of the Munna in his shock, returning his Patrat. “How could I have lost to a kid!?” 

“And that’s why you should have accepted my help when I offered it!” his companion scolded him. “Still, you _did_ soften him up for me, so I guess I should be grateful for that. Go, Purrloin!” She threw out the purple feline-like Pokemon, and it hissed at Maru when it materialized. “Scratch!” 

“Water Gun!” Hilbert yelled as the Devious Pokemon ran right for Maru. Maru opened his mouth and spat a stream of water at his opponent, blasting it backwards. All it took was one more Water Gun to knock the Purrloin out. 

“W-what?” the female grunt said, flabbergasted as she too returned her Pokemon. “Get that Dream Mist, _now!”_

The male grunt began slamming his fist down on the Munna repeatedly. “C’mon, _c’mon!”_ he yelled with each hit. “Make with the Dream Mist! If we don’t get it, we’ll never be able to show how ugly people are on the inside, and they won’t release their Pokemon!” 

“Knock it off!” Fennel shouted. “You’re hurting it!” 

_Alright, that’s it,_ Hilbert mentally seethed. “Maru, use Water Gun on the-!” 

He cut off in mid-sentence when a bright flash of light turned everyone’s vision white for a split second, leaving them all blinking or rubbing their eyes. “What the..?” Hilbert asked no one, thoroughly confused. He then heard the Plasma grunts gasp in fear, and looking over at them, he saw them cowering in fear of a familiar face. 

“G-Ghetsis!” the male Plasma grunt stuttered, his female compatriot hiding behind him. “W-what are you doing here?” 

“I think I should be asking you the same thing,” Ghetsis growled. “You _should_ be liberating Pokemon from Trainers!” 

Then, to everyone’s shock, a _second_ Ghetsis appeared out of nowhere, this time to the right of the grunts. The female grunt let out a shrill cry of fear, realizing she and her companion were surrounded. 

_What’s going on?_ Hilbert thought. _So Ghetsis had superpowers or something and was keeping them secret from that crowd in Accumula?_

“If you cannot fulfill your task, you both are _useless!”_ Ghetsis and his clone thundered simultaneously. To the grunts’ horror, both of the Ghetsis began to mutate into nightmarish monstrosities, his hair curling up into sharply pointed horns, his eye and red monocle flaming, and his teeth turning into vampiric fangs. 

Both of the grunts screamed in horror, the male grunt letting the Munna go, and they both ran for the gate, slamming into it. Bianca, Fennel, and Hilbert could hear them yelling things like, “Open it, _open_

 _it!”_ and, “ _Where’s the key!? Where the fuck is it!?”_ before one of them apparently found said key, opened the lock, and pushed open the gates, the two of them running screaming away. 

The two Ghetsis’s began to laugh, before literally dissolving away into nothing. 

“What… what just happened..?” Bianca managed, stunned. “That was… that was…” 

“Weird as hell?” Hilbert finished for her. 

“Oh, I think I know what happened,” Fennel said confidently. “Look up there, you two!” 

They both looked back to the trail, and gasped. Floating in mid-air in the treeline, was a Pokemon that looked similar to Munna, but was obviously its evolution. Most of its rounded body was purple, its head being a pale pink. The tips of its four stubby limbs were dark pink. A mist the same shade of pink was currently being exhumed from a hole in its face above its trunk. 

“What is it?” Bianca asked. 

“It’s a Musharna,” Fennel said, entranced. “I-I heard rumours there was one living in the Dreamyard, but I never thought I’d actually see it! This… this is incredible! And it’s exuding enough Dream Mist right now to power my machine for months!” 

Pulling two large vials out of the pockets of her lab coat, Fennel slowly and carefully approached the Musharna. It allowed her to do so. She dipped the vials into the stream of mist the Drowsing Pokemon was giving off, then quickly capped them and made her way back to Hilbert and Bianca. 

“Got it!” she exclaimed. 

“Okay, but that still doesn’t explain what we all saw just now,” Hilbert said. “What was up with the magical disappearing Ghetsis?” 

“Oh, that’s easy!” Fennel said. “Musharna has the ability to cause people to see hallucinations- in other words, waking dreams. What we saw wasn’t real, it was just a hallucination! Aren’t Pokemon amazing?” 

With that, the Musharna let out a low-pitched, almost Wailord-like call, but with much more echo to it, and the Munna, presumably its offspring, floated over to it, the two Pokemon vanishing into the treeline. 

Hilbert turned back to the Dreamyard’s gate. “Well, in other news, that solves the mystery of why that gate was locked,” he said. “Those Team Plasma grunts probably did it while hunting for that Munna. It was lucky we got here when we did.” 

“Oh, that reminds me, Hilbert,” Bianca suddenly said. “How’d you know about those guys and where they were from?” 

_Oh, right,_ Hilbert thought. _She wasn’t there at that rally in Accumula Town._ He sighed. “There was a speech by that Ghetsis guy in Accumula while you were booking our rooms in the Pokemon Center. They said they were out to ‘liberate Pokemon’, or some shit like that, but they didn’t act anywhere near that violent. There was also this weird dude, N- yeah, I know it sounds strange, but that’s literally how he introduced himself- and he battled me, but I won. I don’t know what his deal is, but he’s obviously got sympathies towards Team Plasma.” 

“I just hope we don’t run into them anymore,” Bianca shivered. “Those two were really scary.” 

“You and me both, Bianca,” Hilbert said. 

“Anyway, I think it’s high time we all started heading back,” Fennel said. “I need to get back to my research, plus I need to put some ice on this bruise.” She gently touched her tender cheek, only to hiss in pain and retract her hand immediately. 

“You two go on if you want to,” Bianca said. “I wanna see if there’s another Munna around here. I think I’ve just found my next team member!” 

“Suit yourself,” Hilbert said, starting to walk away with Fennel. However, on the way, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Just be careful and watch yourself, okay?” 

Bianca gave a nod. “I will. Don’t worry about me.” 

With that, Hilbert left the Dreamyard, knowing his sizeable monetary reward from Fennel was as good as his. 

About an hour later, Cheren walked out of the Striaton Gym, holding the Trio Badge up to the dusk light, admiring the way it glittered, before putting it away in his Badge Case. He knew that his inevitable rematch with Hilbert was drawing near, but first he was heading back to the Pokemon Center to turn in early. 

_After all, gotta get up first thing to train on Route 3,_ he thought sinisterly. _My Pokemon have to be strong to make Hilbert pay for what he did, after all._


	13. Chapter 9: A Bumpy Road to Nacrene

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 9: A Bumpy Road to Nacrene**

Thankfully, the rest of the evening on that day proved uneventful. Fennel was true to her word, and gave Hilbert the 4,000 Pokedollars as promised for his help. He had gone to a relatively fancy restaurant that night for dinner, just to indulge a bit, and with his belly full, he returned to the Pokemon Center for bed. 

The morning of the 14th, after eating the LMT he bought two days before for breakfast, he decided it was finally time to wash his clothes. Pokemon Centers all had multiple laundry rooms at the back of the hallways where Trainers stayed, but since many of them traveled with just the clothes on their backs and no spare set, their only option was to stand in these small rooms naked for up to an hour while their clothing was washed and dried. ‘Standing around is bad, but smelling bad is worse,’ as the saying went. 

So, Hilbert was forced to wait while the washing machine spun his clothes around and around, with nothing to do but check his watch every now and again and fiddle with his Cross-Transceiver. At least the rooms, right down to the floors, were heated to well above room temperature, but that didn’t take away from how mind-numbing the process was. 

At last, after almost an hour, his clothes were finally done being washed and dried. He went back to his room, had a shower, and then went down to the Pokemart to prepare for the road to his next destination. He discovered that due to winning the Trio Badge, he now had the right to buy more items, and even more would open up to him assuming he won more Badges. He bought three Potions for the road, and as for the PTMRE, purchased the most expensive one on offer: the pepperoni pizza slice. The cashier actually raised an eyebrow when he put the thick plastic bag down on the counter, but rang him up without saying anything. 

Everything he bought, combined with what he already had, just barely fit in his bag, causing it to bulge like an engorged belly, the weight making him list slightly to one side. He gave his final Oran Berry to Logan for the road, then set off. By now, it was nearing ten-thirty in the morning according to his watch, meaning he had to move if he wanted to get to the next city in a timely manner. 

_Well, only one way I haven’t gone in this city yet,_ he thought, turning towards the suburb to the west. _Hopefully I won’t get lost, but if I keep going west, I should be okay._ With that, he rocked back on his heels, and ran off in that direction. The streets, houses, and the hedge statues out on their lawns went by in blurs as he ran, his shoes letting out quiet _puff, puff, puffs_ as they slapped rhythmically against the blue-grey sidewalks. The street he was on went into a gentle northwestern curve, and for a second he feared he made the wrong decision in going this way, but the curve ended in a fork in the road, with one path going straight west, so he kept going west onto Route 3. 

The end of the suburb was rather abrupt, pavement giving way to dirt paths. Route 3 was far less hilly than Route 2, and somewhat shorter, at roughly 5.5 kilometres (3.41754 miles) in length. Its tall grass was confined to certain areas off the beaten path, rather than being right in the middle of it. He continued to run down the path, slowing his pace as he passed by what seemed to be a daycare, atop a small hill to his right, with a larger facility behind it of unknown use. Several children got up from playing with their Pokemon to wave at him and call hello, and he gave a friendly wave back. 

He almost didn’t see the figure step out of the patch of tall grass to the side until he was practically right on top of him. He barely avoided crashing into them, skidding to a stop so suddenly he nearly tripped. 

“Hilbert, stop!” a familiar voice barked, though it was completely redundant to tell him to do so, given that he already had- mere feet away. 

“...Cheren?” Hilbert asked tentatively, not even feeling the effects of the multi-kilometre run through the suburb to get to this point thanks to his shoes. “How long have you been here? Got your Trio Badge, right?” His casual tone of voice caused Cheren to clench his fists in rage. 

“Oh, I’ve got it, Hilbert. And I’ve been training here since seven o’clock!” Cheren cried. “Now that you’re finally here, I challenge to another battle!” It’s time to find out which one of us actually _deserves_ that Badge!” _And for me to get my revenge on you for humiliating me at the Trainer’s School,_ he mentally added. 

Hilbert’s face darkened at once. “Alright,” he said in a low voice, almost a growl, backing up about fifteen feet, “If you really want another defeat under your belt, then fine.” 

“Not this time, Hilbert, not this time,” Cheren growled. “Go, Interloper!” He tossed out his Purrloin. 

_Gonna have to be careful this time around, and I can’t let him use that Assist trick on me again,_ Hilbert thought. _Guess I’ll go for Logan._ He grabbed his Lillipup’s Poke Ball off his belt and threw him out, making the first move. “Logan, Leer, then Work Up!” 

Logan’s eyes glowed red for a second, freezing the enemy Purrloin in place long enough for him to pull off the Work Up, his body vibrating before being briefly surrounded by a red aura, indicating the stat raise. 

Logan didn’t need to be told what to do next. Tucking his head in, he made a mad beeline right for Purrloin. Cheren grit his teeth, but he needn’t have worried. Interloper opened his mouth and used Growl once Logan was within a few feet, stopping the Puppy Pokemon in its tracks. It then popped its claws and began slashing at Logan with Fury Swipes in a three-hit combo, the last strike sending him tumbling back. 

Now with a bit of breathing room, Cheren crossed his fingers and yelled, “Assist!” 

“Oh, no…” Hilbert groaned as the familiar ball of white light formed on Purrloin’s paw, but this time, the glow quickly became an outline around its entire body, then it turned green, and for a second, Interloper’s body grew to twice its size, then shrank back down, followed by a brief red aura around it. 

“Not what I wanted, but I’ll definitely take Growth!” Cheren boasted. “Now the playing field’s even, isn’t it, Hilbert? Interloper, use-!” 

He was cut off as Interloper was sent rocketing past him, so close it ruffled his jacket, the Purrloin landing hard some twenty feet behind him. Unbeknownst to him, Logan had recovered in the time it took Interloper to finish using Growth, and had slammed into the Devious Pokemon with Tackle. Thanks to the boost provided by Work Up, the move was far more powerful than usual. 

“ _Interloper!”_ Cheren screamed in worry for his Pokemon, turning around. He gave a sigh of relief as his Purrloin shakily got to its feet, then ran back to his side. It was clear, however, that Interloper was clinging to consciousness by a thread. _Dammit,_ Cheren thought, gritting his teeth. _I’ve gotta turn this around somehow!_ He thought back to Hilbert’s battle with that weird N guy in Accumula, and how he had his Purrloin dodge out of the way of Hilbert’s Oshawott’s Tackle. _That’s it!_

“Alright, Logan, let’s finish that Purrloin off!” Hilbert said. “Use Tackle!” 

Logan immediately ran for the Purrloin, Cheren waiting until the last possible second before calling, “Now, dodge!” 

Purrloin, just like N’s before it, elegantly twirled out of the way of the attack like a ballerina, and as Logan skidded to a stop and tried to turn around, popped its claws and lunged for the Puppy Pokemon, slashing at it with the three-hit combo of Fury Swipes. 

Just when Cheren thought he had this part of the battle won as Hilbert’s Lillipup was knocked back from the last hit from Fury Swipes, the Puppy Pokemon began to glow, a telltale sign of a Berry. “What!?” Cheren cried in shock. 

“Looks like giving Logan the last Oran Berry I had was a good idea,” Hilbert said. “Now, for real this time, Logan! Take that Purrloin down!” 

Unable to think of anything to do in time, Cheren watched in horror as Logan rammed into Interloper, sending his Pokemon flying towards Hilbert where it landed with a hard _**thud.**_

Unable to even articulate his rage, Cheren just let out an animalistic growl, and recalled his Purrloin. Logan ran back towards Hilbert as Cheren snatched his Snivy’s Poke Ball off his belt. “Tara, get out there! Vine Whip!” he yelled. 

Cheren’s Snivy began the attack before it had even fully materialized, leaving Logan no chance to dodge. He was hit with the attack, knocking him back and out. 

“Damn!” Hilbert said. He quickly recalled Logan and tossed out Maru, knowing he was in a very precarious position. If Cheren’s Snivy landed just a few hits on Oshawott, it was over. _Alright then… time to test out Maru’s new move and see if critical hits are all they’re cracked up to be,_ he thought. 

“Tara, Growth!” Cheren yelled. 

“Maru, Focus Energy!” Hilbert commanded. 

Tara was surrounded by a neon green outline, her body growing to twice its normal size, then it shrank back down, the red aura following immediately after. While Snivy did that, Oshawott was surrounded by pillars of yellow light that shot ten feet up into the air before vanishing. Maru’s gaze then became keener, more acute. 

Snivy then grew another Vine Whip out of its stubby arms, and raced towards Maru. Once it was in range, Hilbert crossed his fingers and yelled, “Maru, Cut!” 

Maru dodged out of the way of the Vine Whip as Snivy brought it down, pulling the seashell off his stomach at the same time, and using it to _cut through_ Snivy’s Vine Whip before slashing it across the face. There was a split-second flash of light as the latter blow connected, indicating the critical hit. Snivy cried out in pain and was flung back. 

“A critical hit!?” Cheren cried. “I thought those were more rare than shiny Pokemon!” 

“Focus Energy raises the critical hit chance, Cheren,” Hilbert said. “Now, Oshawott, finish this! One more Cut!” 

Oshawott ran towards the stunned Snivy, who couldn’t recover in time. When the attack landed, it was over. Cheren couldn’t believe it, and began visibly shaking in anger. Wordlessly, he recalled his starter as Hilbert did the same. 

Robbed of his chance at vengeance, Cheren numbly walked up to Hilbert, tapping Trainer Cards with him. _How?_ the black-haired boy thought. _How could he beat me again? How? HOW?_

“So, what was that about who deserves the Trio Badge more?” Hilbert said, oblivious to Cheren’s inner turmoil. 

Before Cheren could answer, a voice yelled, “Outta the way!” and before they knew it, they had been pushed to the ground by two figures sprinting away from them. 

SEVEN MINUTES EARLIER...

“And there it is,” the male grunt said to his female companion. “The disgusting facility responsible for breeding all of Unova’s starter Pokemon.” 

“Hmph, you think I don’t know that?” she replied. “The question is, how are we gonna assault it? Look at the guards! You and I both know those aren’t run-of-the-mill Grumpigs!” 

The two of them were currently hidden in the treeline to the right of the large grey building beyond the children’s daycare, out of sight. The facility, as the male grunt had said, bred all of Unova’s starter Pokemon, and as such, was a very important building to the region, employing specially-trained guards, who rotated shifts in 12-hour increments. Most of these men and women had been former Trainers with at least six Gym Badges each under their belts, and their teams as such were at levels that could rival the Elite Four’s. 

“I don’t know, but if we don’t do something, we’re dead,” the male grunt said. “After our failure at the Dreamyard…” 

The female grunt gulped. “H-he wouldn’t actually-“ 

“I’m pretty sure he would, which means we gotta do something.” 

“Well… well, then let’s just steal a Pokemon from one of those little brats at that kindergarten. At least then we’ll have something to show for our efforts!” 

The male grunt sighed. “It won’t be much, but it’ll be better than nothing. Let’s do it.” 

They quickly picked out an unlucky child, and swiped her Pokemon in short order, and made a break for it, leaving the girl crying in their wake. On the way there, they shoved past two teenage boys, but thought little of them in their mad dash to get away. Once they were out of earshot, the male grunt called for backup on his Cross-Transceiver. 

“What the hell was that about?” Cheren said as he pushed himself to his feet, rubbing his hip where he had landed on it. 

“Beats the hell outta me,” Hilbert replied, somewhat unnecessarily. 

Suddenly, they heard Bianca’s voice calling out. “Someone! Stop them! Pokemon thieves!” She was running towards them, a girl of about five or six right behind her. She stopped in front of Hilbert and Cheren, panting. Hilbert noted that she now had three Poke Balls on her belt. “Did… did you two see that… that man and woman that just ran past here?” 

“Yeah, we did,” Hilbert said. “What’s going on?” 

“Those… those bad people…” the little girl sniffled, tears in her eyes. “They… th-they stole my Pokemon!” 

“ _What?”_ Cheren cried. “Why?” 

Ignoring him, Bianca turned to Hilbert. “I think it’s Team Plasma again.” 

“Oh, crap,” Hilbert groaned. “That’s not good.” 

“Wait, those weird activists we saw in Accumula Town?” Cheren asked. “Why would they do that?” 

“I don’t know,” Hilbert said. “Me and Bianca encountered them yesterday at the Dreamyard on the outskirts of Striaton, and they didn’t act anything like the ones in Accumula. I think there might be a splinter group in Team Plasma or something. Either way, we gotta go after them and get this little girl’s Pokemon back.” 

Cheren sighed. “Agreed. If they went west, we’re in luck. There’s nothing that way but a place called Wellspring Cave. We can corner them there.” He almost ran off right then and there, but remembered both his Pokemon were knocked out, and that he didn’t have any Potions, and groaned, turning to Hilbert. “Do you have any Potions I can use to heal my team?” 

“Yeah, but keep in mind I have to use them to heal _my_ team, which yours hurt,” Hilbert said. 

“If you hadn’t put up a fight, they wouldn’t have gotten hurt, now would they?” Cheren countered. 

“ _You_ were the one who challenged me, _of course I had to fight back!”_ Hilbert yelled. 

“My point is, you shouldn’t have!” Cheren shouted right back. 

“What, you think I was just gonna let you win!?” 

Throughout all this, Bianca looked on helplessly, unsure of what to do. She looked at the girl from the daycare, looking more distraught by the second, Hilbert and Cheren’s argument doing nothing but make her more anxious. Abruptly, she burst into tears with a loud wail. _That_ got the two boys to shut up immediately. 

“Uh, guys?” Bianca said timidly as the child kept crying, tears spilling down her plump cheeks in rivers, “Maybe now would be a good time to stop fighting?” She held up her pinkie finger. “Back each other up, remember?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Cheren said. “But I _can’t_ back up anyone if my Pokemon are all knocked out!” 

Bianca just sighed, rummaging through her purse, pulling out a Potion, and handing it to Cheren. “This’ll have to do for now. Be sure to pay me back later.” 

“Thanks,” Cheren said. He pressed the nozzle of the Potion the central button of his Snivy’s Poke Ball to heal it as Hilbert did the same for his team. 

“Alright, let’s go,” Hilbert said, then took off without another word. 

Cheren took off after him, yelling back over his shoulder, “We’ll be back soon!” 

Their run west lasted for about a kilometre, taking them up a hill and through somewhat more marshy ground, before finally ending at a large rock wall with a gaping cave entrance hewn into it. 

“This Wellspring Cave?” Hilbert asked. 

“Yeah… it is…” Cheren replied, panting. “Heh… those shoes you have… they’re really something, huh? You’re not winded at all.” 

Hilbert gave a thin, humourless smirk. “They are, aren’t they? Ya ready? Got your flashlight?” 

“Yep,” Cheren said, pulling it out of his backpack, just in case they needed it. With that, they entered the cave. Wellspring Cave was a formation that had been created over tens of thousands of years by natural occurrences. As countless rainstorms pelted the area over the millennia, the rainwater seeped through the soil from above, hollowing out the rock and creating the cavern. As such, there was a large lake taking up most of the space in the cave, with the only patches of land being a sizeable chunk in the upper-right where Hilbert, Cheren, and the Plasma grunts stood, and another on the lower-right, across the water. Water droplets consistently rained down from stalactites on the ceiling, making echoing _plips_ whenever they hit the ground. 

The two teens spotted the grunts right away, illuminated by the glow of their flashlights. They turned around immediately. “Dammit, I thought backup would be here by now!” the female grunt chastised her compatriot. 

“Well, it’s not, so now we gotta fight-“ he stopped abruptly as he saw Hilbert. “Wait… _you again!?”_

“Yeah, me again,” Hilbert growled. “Not like I’m happy to see you assholes again, either. Mind telling me what the fuck you’re doing stealing a Pokemon from a child?”

“Yeah, I thought that Team Plasma’s goal was to take Pokemon from abusive Trainers, and a child sure as hell isn’t abusive,” Cheren added. 

“Idiot!” the male grunt laughed. “You actually believe that? Team Plasma’s glorious mission is to liberate Pokemon from _all_ Trainers, no matter who they are!” 

“ _What?”_ Cheren gasped. 

“You moron!” the female grunt yelled at her partner. “Why’d you tell them that!? Now we have to shut them up- permanently!” 

Hilbert and Cheren’s eyes widened in shock. 

“Hey, it’s not _that_ big a deal,” the male grunt shrugged. “It’s not like they were recording this, so they have no evidence. Besides, don’t you want a little revenge against that baseball cap-wearing bastard? He’s the one who ruined our operation at the Dreamyard, after all.” 

“Well… yeah, I guess you’re right,” the female grunt said. “Let’s tear their guts out. Go, Purrloin!” 

“Patrat, get out there!” the male grunt yelled, and the two Pokemon materialized in a flash of white-blue light. 

“Maru, go!” Hilbert yelled. 

“Tara, come out! Vine Whip!” Cheren commanded. 

As the Sea Otter and Grass Snake Pokemon materialized to face off against the Plasma grunts’ Pokemon, Snivy did as was commanded of her, growing a thin vine out of her left arm and striking the Patrat with it. Hilbert saw that the Purrloin was running towards the Snivy, and commanded his Oshawott to blast it back with Water Gun. 

“Be careful!” Hilbert warned Cheren. “Your Snivy’s weak right now, so you gotta play cautiously!” 

“I’ll do this how I want!” Cheren shouted back. “Snivy, Leer on the Purrloin, then Vine Whip on the Patrat!” 

Snivy quickly froze the Purrloin in place with Leer, then grew a vine from its arm and struck the Patrat in the mouth, knocking it away and out. Oshawott took the opportunity to use Water Gun on the Purrloin, knocking it out as well. Hilbert’s Pokedex let out its signature _ding!_ as his starter grew to level 15. 

The bewildered grunts returned their Pokemon to their Poke Balls. “What!? Defeated again!?” the male grunt cried. 

“Dammit! Where is the backup we called?” the female grunt shouted at her compatriot. 

“Are you going to give that kid’s Pokemon back now?” Cheren said sternly. 

The male Plasma grunt was about to answer, but then his keen ears picked up the footsteps of two people running towards them from outside the cave. His hopes were confirmed as the two boys heard it as well, then turned around and gasped. “More of them!?” the boy with black hair cried. 

“What’s going on here?” one of the two men that had come as backup asked their comrades. 

“Let’s just say these brats are trying to stop us in our glorious mission to liberate Pokemon, and they need to be taught a lesson,” the male grunt from the first pair growled. 

“Well, isn’t that troublesome,” one grunt from the second pair replied. He and his partner each pulled a Poke Ball off their belts, ready to throw them out against Cheren and Hilbert’s Pokemon. They did so, revealing two more Patrat. 

  
  


“More of these things?” Cheren said in borderline disbelief.

“Welcome to my world,” Hilbert said. 

The battle was surprisingly difficult, with the two Plasma grunts’ Pokemon knowing an annoying combination of moves, and even got in two hits against Oshawott with Bite, but in the end, the two teens proved victorious. The two grunts recalled their Patrat, giving each other nervous glances. 

“Now, how about you guys give that kid’s Pokemon back to us, or I’ll have Maru here slice your legs off with Cut?” Hilbert said threateningly, Maru popping the seashell off its belly and brandishing it like a sword for added effect. Both were oblivious to the way Cheren’s eyes widened in shock. 

“...Alright, fine,” the female grunt from the first pair said, stepping forward. “We’ll give you back the child’s Pokemon.” She shoved a Poke Ball into Cheren’s hand. “But don’t forget, you Trainers are making Pokemon suffer. Someday, I hope you’ll open your eyes to your complicity in the horrid system that keeps Pokemon as slaves.” 

“And now, I think it’s time we took our leave,” a grunt from the second group said slyly. He pulled out a small orb filled with smoke and raised his arm. 

Cherry barely had time to cry out a warning before the grunt threw the orb down on the ground, releasing a huge cloud of acrid smoke, making Hilbert and Cheren’s eyes water and causing them to double over in a coughing fit. 

Unfortunately for them, the smoke had another, unintended side effect. Hanging from the stalactites above was a swarm of Woobat- blue fuzzballs with pink, heart-shaped noses and black wings. The smoke agitated them to the point where they all popped off the stalactites and flew around in a desperate, screeching bid to escape the cave. A sharp wingtip from one of them caught Hilbert on the left cheek, making a long but shallow cut that immediately started bleeding. “Agh!” he cried in pain. 

Once the smoke cleared, the Woobat were finally able to get out of the cave in a spectacle that a nervous Bianca could see. _That doesn’t seem good,_ she thought to herself. 

Back in the cave, Hilbert and Cheren’s vision cleared as the smoke did, allowing them to see that the four Plasma grunts were gone. 

"Dammit, they got away…” Cheren said, recalling his Snivy. 

“Honestly, I’m just glad they’re gone,” Hilbert said, wincing as he touched the wound on his cheek. “Let’s just hope this is the last we see of those bastards.” He then recalled his Oshawott. 

“You… you weren’t actually gonna have your Oshawott hurt them, right?” Cheren asked. 

“Relax, dude, it was an empty threat,” Hilbert replied. “I might have had Maru slash towards them as a warning, but that didn’t need to happen, did it?” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Cheren said, but he didn’t sound entirely reassured. “Either way, we better get this Pokemon back to that kid.” 

“You go on ahead,” Hilbert said. “I wanna take a look around here, see if there’s anything worth catching.” 

“Personally, I think all the Pokemon in here were those Woobat, but suit yourself.” With that, Cheren ran out of the cave. 

Hilbert pulled his own flashlight out of his bag, sweeping it back and forth across the cave’s floor. It wasn’t long before he saw something reflect off the gleam from his flashlight, in the corner of the spit of land. _What the..?_ he thought, going over to it. It turned out it was the jewel case for a T M. Picking it up and wiping the dirt off the QR code, it turned out to be T M46, Thief. Thief was a base 60 power Dark-type move that, like the name implied, stole a Pokemon’s hold item and gave it to the user, assuming that they weren’t holding something already. However, none of the Pokemon currently on his team could learn it. Nonetheless, he stored it in his bag, just in case. 

It was then that he heard a scratching noise from somewhere behind him. He whipped around, his heartrate instantly elevated, calling out, “Hello? Who’s there?” He got no reply but his own voice echoing back at him. He took a few tentative steps forward, hearing the scratching noise again. He swung his flashlight back and forth, and then he saw it. 

Not ten feet away from him, was a small mole-like Pokemon, staring curiously at him. “A Drilbur,” he breathed. This was one of the Pokemon he had wanted to add to his team from the start, and this was a golden opportunity to do so. 

Drilbur’s body was small- with the Pokemon only being a foot tall, but wide. Its fur was mostly black, but there were jagged, navy blue stripes running across its torso that reminded one of military camouflage, or construction vehicles. Its face was white and it had a long snout, which was tipped with a pink nose. Its feet were small and ovoid in shape. It lacked hands in the traditional sense, as on the end of its arms were three large silver claws. 

As Maru had taken some damage from the fight with the latter two Plasma grunts, Hilbert sent out Logan to weaken the Mole Pokemon. “Logan, Tackle!” he yelled. Logan obeyed, running towards and ramming into the Drilbur, sending it backwards, but it was far from knocked out. 

That was just fine for Hilbert, as he quickly dug into his bag and pulled out the Dusk Ball Sebastian had given him. _Hopefully this works,_ he thought, tossing the Ball at the Drilbur. The Pokemon was turned into bluish-white energy and sucked inside the Ball, which then began to rock back and forth. Hilbert held his breath. One shake… two shakes… three shakes… and with a _click_ , the Drilbur was his. 

“Yes! Got it! Thank you Sebastian,” he said to himself, picking up the Dusk Ball and checking his Pokedex. The Drilbur was male, its ability was Sand Rush, it was level 13, but its moves, Hilbert noticed with a frown, were plain bad: Mud Sport, Rapid Spin, Fury Swipes, and Mud-Slap. All of them ranged from outright useless to very weak in terms of base power. Luckily, Drilbur could learn the HM for Cut, so Hilbert taught it right away, using it to replace Mud Sport. 

Hilbert then stared down at the Mole Pokemon as it stared back at him, trying to come up with a nickname for it. “I think I’ll call you Scrapper,” he said finally, to which the Drilbur let out a joyous cry. Hilbert smirked and recalled the Mole Pokemon to its Ball, then winced again as the cut on his cheek gave another flare of pain. He brought his fingers to it and then looked at them, finding them coated in flecks of dried blood. 

_Damn Woobat,_ he thought. _Gonna have to get this looked at. Sooner the better._

Hilbert left the cave, turning his flashlight off and stowing it in his bag as he walked out into the sunlight again. Checking his watch, he saw that it was close to one in the afternoon, and so decided to get going. He went back to the crossroads where he had fought Cheren, finding Bianca and the kindergartener were gone. Deducing that Bianca had already taken the child back to the preschool, he went south onto the path to Nacrene. 

The path was long, plain, and boring. With nothing but his own thoughts to keep him company, he trundled on, passing by tall grass patches he had no desire to go into. Some of them, he noted, were darker than the usual light-green colour, making them look much more foreboding. 

Suddenly, from a little further up the path, he heard Cheren’s voice cry out, “Tara, dodge that, now!” and he picked up his pace in response, breaking into a jog. He saw Cheren in a field of the darker-coloured tall grass, trying to fight off two wild Pokemon at once, a Blitzle and a Pidove. 

Blitzle was a black-and-white, quadruped Electric-type Pokemon that resembled a zebra. It had thick white stripes on its back, chest, and around its neck. A spiky white mane ran up its head, culminating in an extension that looked like a lightning bolt. It had a large, pitch-black nose, and blue eyes. 

Pidove, on the other hand, was a mostly gray pigeon-like Normal/Flying-type creature. Its large eyes were amber in colour with black pupils, while its wings were black with a gray stripe in the center of each. There was a large, heart-like marking in the center of its torso that was a very light gray, and its feet were pink with small black talons. 

Knowing Cheren wouldn’t be able to hold off two wild Pokemon with his weakened Snivy by its lonesome, Hilbert waded into the field, tossing out Logan. The Puppy Pokemon managed to get in a sneaky Tackle on the Blitzle, knocking it over. The Blitzle let out a high-pitched whine in pain, and got to its feet. The Electrified Pokemon, perhaps knowing this was a fight it couldn’t win, ran off, leaving the Pidove outnumbered. Realizing this, it too took off, flying away. 

“Thanks,” Cheren said, returning his Snivy as Hilbert walked up to him. 

“What the hell were you doing just now?” Hilbert said, more than a bit of irritation seeping into his tone. “And why’d you try to take on two wild Pokemon at once?” 

“I was _trying_ to catch one of those Pokemon as my next team member,” Cheren replied. “They were fighting over something, and I tried to sneak up on them. It didn’t work, and the Pokemon in this dark grass seem to be stronger for some reason.” 

Hilbert then walked towards where the Blitzle and Pidove were, Cheren following him. What they found there was something remarkable: a small pile of six Berries. 

“No way…” Cheren breathed. “Chesto Berries? I didn’t think these even grew in Unova!” He picked up three and placed them in his backpack, Hilbert taking the other three. 

“What do they do?” Hilbert asked. 

“They heal a Pokemon under the sleep status condition if you let one hold it,” Cheren said. “Just use them wisely, because I’m not sure if we’ll ever see any of these again.” 

Just then, their stomachs began rumbling. “Looks like it’s time for lunch,” Hilbert said, sighing. 

They exited the field and got back on the path, each pulling out their respective PTMRE’s. “What? You got the pizza!?” Cheren cried. “How’d you afford that? That’s the most expensive one they sell!” 

“Remember that scientist that Juniper told us to meet back in Accumula?” Hilbert said. “She paid me a pretty penny for helping her gather something called Dream Mist for her research.” 

Cheren looked with visible envy as Hilbert tore open the pizza PTMRE and unloaded its components: chocolate powder for a protein drink, some rather unusual breadsticks that were more doughy than crunchy by feeling them through the bag and came complete with a packet of jalapeño cheese spread, an oatmeal cookie, a Sitrus-Oran Berry cobbler, and of course, the pizza slice itself. It also came with something called a flameless ration heater, or FRH, which was a transparent green plastic bag with a heating element in it that reacted to water, and a cardboard sleeve to put the FRH in. There was also the obligatory plastic spoon. 

Hilbert put the cobbler and pizza slice into the FRH, then poured water into it up to the fill line to active the heating element, then placed that into the cardboard sleeve. While everything was heating up, he prepared the chocolate protein drink the same way he made its vanilla counterpart from the LMT. Just to give the oatmeal cookie a bit more ‘oomph’ in terms of flavour, he broke it up and dunked the chunks in the protein drink, then chowed down. 

Cheren, meanwhile, could take it no more. He finished his meal in record time, got up, and simply left without saying a word. Hilbert didn’t know it, but he had a bitter, cold look on his face. 

At long last, the pizza and cobbler were ready. Hilbert tried to eat slowly to savour the taste of each item, but failed miserably because everything was so good. He stashed his garbage in his bag to be disposed of later, then got up and set off once again. 

Soon enough, the path turned sharply west, to a bridge over a lake. Hilbert took his time crossing the boardwalk, as even though it was fairly wide, there were no guardrails, and he never learned how to swim, so if he fell in the water, he would drown. Just as he got to the gate to Nacrene, he thought he heard a noise, like a distant scream, but shrugged it off and entered the city. 

About ten minutes earlier, while Hilbert was still crossing the boardwalk bridge over the lake, the four Plasma grunts had made their way to its north bank, all panting and exhausted. 

“Damn… those… kids,” the female grunt said. “Why the… why the hell… did they… have to get in our way?” 

“You’re still… still worried about them?” Her male compatriot said, seeming slightly amused. “Because right now, we have… bigger problems.”

“S-shut up… both… both of you,” one of the grunts from their backup said. “Do you want… do you want _them_ hearing us?” 

“Too late. We know already,” a harsh, raspy voice from nowhere said. All four grunts froze in terror. 

“Look at we have here, comrades,” an identical voice said. “Four failures, all cowering, thinking we wouldn’t find them or know. Truly a shameful display, isn’t it?” 

“It is indeed, brother Shadow,” said a third voice, which was again, identical to the previous two. “Punishment must doled out for such incompetence.” 

With a sudden _vsssh_ sound, three beings materialized from out of nowhere in front of the four Plasma grunts, startling them. They were dressed like ninja straight out of feudal Kanto, but their long, stark-white hair and pallid gray skin betrayed something inhuman about them. 

“The Shadow Triad,” one of the grunts whispered in fear. “Ghetsis’s personal spies and assassins.” 

The Triad all laughed, sounding like sandpaper scraping against steel. “That’s right,” the Shadow on the left said. “I wonder brothers: how would Master Ghetsis feel if we told them about these fools? Failing to retrieve the Dream Mist and then stealing a Pokemon from a child- as if that would make up for anything.” 

One of the Plasma grunts had heard enough. With a cry, he turned tail and ran, but the Shadow on the right simply teleported in front of him, grabbing his head and snapping his neck. The man felt brief but intense shockwaves of pain surge down his spinal column… and then he never felt anything else, ever again. The Shadow dropped his lifeless body to the ground like a discarded bag of tools. The other Plasma grunts were now rooted in place in fear, the female whispering, “This isn’t real… this isn’t happening…” over and over. 

The middle Shadow then teleported away. There was a tense five-second pause, the Plasma grunts hemmed in by the two remaining Shadows. Then, the other Shadow reappeared with the one man the Plasma grunts least wanted to see in that moment. 

Ghetsis said nothing, but his face betrayed his rage. Wordlessly, he pulled out two Poke Balls and released two of his own Pokemon: Bisharp and the Ghost-type Confagrigus. 

Confagrigus was a primarily yellow sarcophagus with blue markings on the top. Two red, evil-looking eyes became visible when parts of the coffin slid apart, as well as mouth of white fangs. Four shadowy arms then appeared from out of the sides of the coffin, completing its menacing appearance. 

Without warning, the Bisharp ran towards one of the grunts, decapitating him with its elongated arm blades. It then knocked another one to the ground, slashing her repeatedly. The grunt let out a bloodcurdling scream as her chest was cut open. 

The final grunt tried to run, but Confagrigus glowed a bright pink, and then he felt an incredible pressure on his skull. He brought his hands to his head as the pressure increased, and then, without warning, his skull exploded, sending blood and bits of brain matter spraying over the grass. 

Ghetsis sighed, recalling both his Pokemon. “Fools,” he scoffed. “Sometimes I wonder if this is all worth it, if it means I have to deal with such incompetence on a daily basis. I can only hope our planned raid on the Nacrene City museum succeeds.” 

“We are almost ready for the raid, my Lord,” one Shadow said. “Gorm needs only a few more days to go over some details and ready the men.” 

“Good,” Ghetsis said. “Is there anything else of note to report on the failed operation at the Dreamyard?”

“Only one, my Lord,” another Shadow said. “There was a boy in a baseball cap there. He was the one who fought off our operatives. He was also in Wellspring Cave, along with another boy, presumably one of his pitiful friends.” 

Ghetsis said nothing, mulling over the information he had just received. Then it hit him. He had seen a boy in a baseball cap at his rally in Accumula Town, and in fact had been the one to speak up. _No matter,_ the man thought. _He may become a thorn in my side, but I doubt it. If he does, he can be easily crushed._

Addressing the Shadow Triad, Ghetsis said, “Let’s make for Castelia. There are many rallies we can hold there, and many more gullible fools that I think we can… convince… to release their Pokemon.” 

One Shadow then took Ghetsis’s arm, and the four of them vanished, leaving no trace they had ever been there, save for the bodies of the four Plasma grunts. 


	14. Chapter 12: A Walk in the Woods

**Long Way to Fall**

**By: Rylek196**

**Chapter 12: A Walk in the Woods**

The sight that greeted Hilbert and Lenora when they ran into the museum was nothing short of shocking. The largest group of Plasma grunts Hilbert had seen yet- about twelve in all- were gathered around the Dragonite skeleton, with two of them even perched on a stepladder that went up to the skeleton’s skull. The ones not on the ladder had their Pokemon out, making sure no one got close. 

“What the hell are you doing!?” Lenora shouted. “How _dare_ you intrude on my museum like this!? Just who do you think you are!?” 

“We are Team Plasma, you pathetic _Gym Leader_ ,” one of the grunts said, placing scornful emphasis on his last two words. “And we’re here to take this skeleton, in the name of our King and our glorious mission of Pokemon liberation! Drop the smokescreen!” 

  
  


As one, all twelve grunts pulled glass balls filled with purple smoke from their belts. _Those are the things they used in Wellspring Cave to escape!_ Hilbert thought. 

  
  


The grunts raised their arms as one, Lenora just barely having time to shout, “Smoke Balls! Everyone, cover-!” before she was cut off by the grunts throwing the Smoke Balls to the ground, shattering them and releasing a massive cloud of acrid smoke that made the one Hilbert saw in Wellspring Cave look like just car exhaust by comparison. Hilbert, Lenora, Hawes, and the museum patrons unlucky enough to be caught in the insane event all fell to their knees, hacking and coughing, completely unable to see. During the minute of blind confusion, several loud _cracks_ were heard as the grunts presumably broke bones off the skeleton. 

  
  


By the time the smoke had cleared and everyone had rubbed the water from their eyes enough to see, the Plasma grunts, the Dragonite skeleton’s lower jawbone, and several of its ribs, were gone. 

  
  


“Honey…” Lenora said to Hawes, coughing a few more times, “Call the… call the cops. We’re gonna need backup here.” 

  
  


“R-right away,” Hawes said, pulling a phone from his pocket as he staggered to his feet. 

  
  


“What… what was that all about..?” one man standing near the Armoldo fossil asked, bewildered. “Why would they vandalize the museum like that?” 

  
  


“I don’t know, but we have to go after them,” Lenora said. “Come on!” 

  
  


Hilbert followed her as she ran out the door. Gathered in the small plaza outside the museum was a small crowd of onlookers, all asking questions like, “What the hell just happened here?” and, “Who were those guys in the uniforms?” Among them were Cheren and Bianca, and when they saw Hilbert, they pushed their way to the front of the crowd. 

  
  


“Hilbert, long time no see!” Bianca said cheerfully. “What’s going on? I was just on my way here to challenge Lenora, but then I saw some of those Team Plasma people running here.” 

  
  


Hilbert opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, the blaring sound of police sirens were heard and several cop cars tore up the street, heading for the crowd. People screamed and scattered as the cars skidded to a stop not ten feet away, officers from the Nacrene P.D. getting out. 

  
  


“Oh great, the boys in blue,” Cheren muttered sarcastically. “What good can they do here?” 

  
  


Hilbert just shrugged as Lenora marched up to one of the cops and snatched a megaphone out of his hands, then walked back to the front of the crowd. “All right!” she shouted into the megaphone. “Let me explain what’s going on! Basically, some hoodlums made off with one of my museum’s exhibits! So until we find them, this city is on _lockdown!_ No one in or-!” 

  
  


As if to spite Lenora’s ambitions, the beating of huge wings were heard, and a giant Normal/Flying-type came into view overhead. It was a Braviary, though to Hilbert and his friends, who had never seen one in person, it looked like a Dragon-type given avian form. Its feathers were mostly royal blue on its underside and dark red on its back. Its tail was the same dark red, though near the tip the feathers changed colours to yellow, and then again to blue. Its talons were massive and looked like they could shred a man’s innards with no effort. The plume of feathers around its head resembled a headdress or war bonnet of some variety, but most curiously, there was someone riding on its back. 

  
  


Lenora just sighed, the noise amplified into a mess of static by the megaphone, as the Braviary touched down and the man on it dismounted, returning it to its Poke Ball. He was wearing a green long-sleeved V-neck shirt, striped pants that were a watermelon shade of red, with a scarf of the same colour around his neck, and a belt buckle that looked like a Butterfree from Kanto. A somewhat curly mop of light-brown hair was on his head. Seemingly oblivious to the situation, he just politely asked, “Hello, Lenora. Things seem a little hectic around here. What’s going on?” 

  
  


“What’s going on? Team Plasma just ran off with one of my museum’s exhibits, that’s what’s going on!” Lenora shouted, thankfully remembering to lower the megaphone before she spoke. She made a beckoning gesture towards Hilbert, Bianca, and Cheren, wanting them in on the conversation. They and several police officers walked forward. “You three, this is Burgh, the Gym Leader of Castelia City,” Lenora said 

  
  


“Wait, Team Plasma?” Burgh said. “There have been people calling themselves that making speeches and demonstrations in Castelia for the past few days.” His fist clenched. “Let me tell ya, it’s led to nothing but headaches. People have been releasing their Pokemon because of those speeches, and just yesterday, a tourist ran into one of these Pokemon and got so injured he was sent to the hospital.” 

  
  


“Oh, that’s awful!” Bianca gasped. 

  
  


“Yep,” Burgh sighed. “It’s a mess, and the cops have been trying to find where their hideout is, but… well, even though it’s early in the search, I’m not holding out much hope they’ll find it. Just came here to get away from the stress for a day. Bad idea, huh?” 

  
  


“Yeah, it was,” Lenora said. Noticing the crowd was getting restless, she turned on the megaphone again, addressing them. “Okay, as I was saying, no one in or out of this city until Team Plasma is caught and the Dragonite bones are returned to the museum! Police will be at both ends of the city, and they _will_ stop anyone who tries to leave or enter!” 

  
  


The cops, though, still stood around dumbly. Lenora just rolled her eyes. “Get moving!” she shouted at them. “Set up checkpoints at the east and west ends of the city! Now!” 

  
  


The officers gave hasty, stammering replies, running off back to their cars, heading in opposite directions. 

  
  


Hilbert gave a short, frustrated sigh. “They’re obviously not gonna be any help actually finding those Plasma grunts,” he said as the crowd began to disperse. “So I guess that just leaves us.” 

  
  


“B-but… what if some of them come back?” Bianca said. “If we all go into the forest, the museum will be left undefended!” 

  
  


“Damn, I hadn’t thought about that!” Lenora said, smacking her fist into her palm. “Plus, I should probably be at one of the checkpoints to organize things. We all know how the police are…” 

  
  


“Bianca and I will watch the museum, Lenora,” Cheren said. “You won’t have to worry about a thing.” 

  
  


“Which means I’ll look for the Plasma grunts,” Hilbert said. “But first we gotta figure out where they went.” 

  
  


“Oh, that’s easy!” Burgh said “I think I saw a group of people dressed in white heading south to Pinwheel Forest while I was flying here. Couldn’t quite tell, though.” 

  
  


“It’s all we’ve got to go on, so let’s get moving,” Hilbert said. The fact that his team was weakened from his Gym battle hit him then. It had completely slipped his mind in the chaos. “Uh, does anyone have any healing items I can use? My team’s kinda beat up right now.” 

  
  


“I’m sure as hell not giving you any of mine,” Cheren said. 

  
  


“I wasn’t asking you,” Hilbert growled. 

  
  


_These two obviously have some issues to work out,_ Lenora thought. She pulled two Super Potions out of her back pocket and tossed them to Hilbert, who barely caught them. He used them to heal his fainted team members back to full health. 

  
  


“Thanks. Let’s get going, Burgh!” With that, Hilbert and Burgh began running south towards Pinwheel Forest. It took far longer than Hilbert would have liked, what with the constant need for them to stop at crosswalks- Nacrene was a surprisingly bustling city, Hilbert noted- but finally, they made it to the edges of the forest. 

  
  


“Ever been here before, kid?” Burgh asked. 

“Yeah, I went a little ways in, when I caught my Sawk,” Hilbert said. “But beyond about twenty feet in, I have no idea how to make my way around in there. And my name’s Hilbert, in case you didn’t know.” 

  
  


Burgh just smiled. “Then you’re with the right guy, Hilbert! Nobody knows these woods better than me. This is where I catch all my beautiful Bug-types for my Gym! And I happen to know there are nature trails that you can follow. You can’t miss them. Only question is whether Team Plasma would be stupid enough to use trails open to anyone.” 

  
  


Recalling the incident at the Dreamyard, Hilbert said, “...Yeah, I have a feeling they’d be that stupid.” 

  
  


“Great! That makes our job _much_ easier!” Burgh said, clapping his hands together. “And before I forget, take these.” 

  
  


He reached into his pocket and pulled out two small spray bottles about the same size as a Potion, but the liquid inside was a distinctly piss-coloured yellow rather than purple, and handed them to the boy. “Those are Antidotes. There are Bug/Poison-types called Venipede in Pinwheel Forest, and lemme tell ya, getting your Pokemon poisoned is no fun. They’ll faint in a matter of minutes if they are. Heal it immediately.” 

  
  


“Got it.” 

  
  


“There are a few different trails they could have taken as well, so we better split up. Whatever you do, don’t get lost.” Without another word, Burgh ran off into the woods, heading in a southwest direction. 

  
  


Hilbert swallowed, the trees seeming to groan as a gust of wind blew just then. “Well, let’s get going,” he said to himself, putting the Antidotes in his bag. “Better go southeast.” 

  
  


The path, thankfully, wasn’t that hard to find. About thirty feet in was a trail of trodden-down pine needles, all brown and dead. On either side, tall grass grew in abundance, the Pokemon that made the forest their home eyeing him as he made his way past, but none harassed him. Sunlight penetrated the tree coverage where it could, but it was mostly shady, the trees averaging at least sixty feet tall.. The calls of Pidove echoed through the woods on occasion. 

  
  


He continued on down the path for another ten or so minutes, not taking any major twists or turns, when suddenly, the sounds of a Pokemon battle broke out, shattering the eerie tranquility of the forest, followed by distant, muffled shouting. _Sounds like Burgh found one of the grunts,_ Hilbert thought. 

  
  


Suddenly, someone stepped out from behind a tree, garbed in a white tunic and hood, holding a Poke Ball. “Heh, looks like we _were_ pursued after all!” he said. “Seems typical of those lazy, Pokemon League-licking Gym Leaders to send a kid to do their dirty work! Go, Sandile!” 

  
  


The Pokemon he threw out was a small crocodile-like quadruped that was mostly tan with black stripes lining its body. It had beady little eyes that glimmered like black pearls, even in the low light of the forest, and these were contained in a membrane that resembled glasses or sunglasses. Three small, yet sharp, claws tipped each of its feet, and there were pink patches on its underbelly. 

  
  


_That thing’s definitely a Ground-type,_ Hilbert thought. _Probably a Ground/Dark-type, looking at it more. Perfect experience fodder for Sensei._

  
  


Having made up his mind, he threw out his Sawk, making the grunt visibly nervous. “Sensei, Double Kick!” Hilbert yelled. 

  
  


“Sandile, Assurance!” the grunt commanded. 

  
  


The Karate Pokemon ran towards its opponent, reaching it before it even managed to move very far. He pivoted to the side, his left leg lashing out in a low-aimed kick, hitting the Sandile hard. As his left foot hit the ground, his right leg extended in a football-style punt, sending the Desert Croc Pokemon flying. It was unconscious before it hit the ground from the super-effective move. 

  
  


“Agh! Dammit!” the grunt cried, returning his Pokemon to its Poke Ball. Realizing he was now defenceless and staring down a very angry Trainer and his deadly Fighting-type, he grimaced and swallowed nervously. 

  
  


“So, ya gonna tell me where you took those bones you guys broke off from the Dragonite skeleton?” Hilbert asked, his eyes narrowed menacingly. 

  
  


“No way kid,” the grunt sneered, seeming to regain his composure in a heartbeat. “That’s for Team Plasma to know and you to find out!” He then took off, running deep into the forest. 

  
  


“Hey, wait-!” Hilbert yelled after him, but the grunt was already long gone. “Damn, those guys run fast.”

  
  


Sighing, he returned Sensei to his Poke Ball, and continued to walk down the path, this time with much more wariness. Given how that particular grunt had been hiding behind a tree, every blind spot was now an adversary. The sounds of Burgh’s distant battle had faded as well, though whether that was good or bad, Hilbert couldn’t say. 

  
  


The path became a bit curvier, but still led in the same direction he had been going for the past half hour. The tree coverage had become even more thick overhead, blotting out the sunlight almost completely, with just a few rays seeping through the treetops. He was tempted to take out his flashlight, but then thought better of it, knowing it would just be a beacon to lead any Team Plasma grunts right to him. 

  
  


The forest kept going, the path leading ever onwards. _Where the hell is everyone?_ Hilbert thought. _You’d think there’d be some forest rangers here, but no._ He then heard a twig snap somewhere close by, followed by someone letting out a curse. 

  
  


Hilbert immediately grabbed Sensei’s Poke Ball off his belt, on alert, and looking around. Not a second later, a grunt stepped out from behind a tree, holding a decently-thick stick she was obviously intending to bludgeon him over the head with prior to giving herself away on accident. “Heh, and here I was thinking I’d have to deal with someone who posed a bit of a threat,” she said in a taunting voice. “Go, Purrloin!” 

  
  


Hilbert just rolled his eyes. _Not another one of those things,_ he thought, releasing Sensei. “Double Kick!” he yelled. 

  
  


The poor Purrloin didn’t know what hit it. Sensei’s first kick sent it flying into a tree, knocking it out in the blink of an eye. The grunt, clearly unable to believe what just happened, just stood there with a dumbfounded expression on her face, before she let out a shriek of rage and ran towards Hilbert, stick raised. Sensei was quick to intervene, jumping between the grunt and his Trainer. He turned on his heel, his leg shooting out and slamming into the grunt’s side, knocking the wind out of her, and causing her to fall on her side hard. 

  
  


She turned onto her back and began to scoot backwards in desperation, but Sensei merely placed his foot on her chest to hold her down, squishing her breasts, which actually did mildly arouse Hilbert, much to his chagrin. Cursing his hormones, he tried to ignore the slight tightness in his jeans, walking over to the downed grunt, standing over her. 

  
  


“I’ve already asked this to one of your buddies, but he didn’t feel like talking,” he nodded to Sensei, who increased his pressure on the grunt, making her cry out in pain as her breasts were practically crushed under the Karate Pokemon’s weight. “I hope you won’t make the same mistake,” Hilbert growled. “Because I have to admit, I’m really getting sick of seeing you grunts everywhere I go.” 

  
  


“O-okay! Okay!” the grunt wheezed, gasping for breath. “Just lemme go before I suffocate!” 

  
  


Hilbert nodded again to Sensei, who, while not retracting his foot all the way, did let up on the amount of pressure he was placing on the grunt, letting her breathe. She took a few deep breaths of oxygen before speaking. “There’s… there’s a clearing deeper in these woods, at the end of this path. We were going to take the bones there for a handoff. That’s all I know, I swear!” 

  
  


Hilbert let out a short half-sigh. “That’s good enough. Sensei, knock her out.” 

  
  


“Wait-!” the grunt cried, but it was too late. Sensei had already lifted up his foot and brought it down hard on her forehead, sending her into the Dream World. 

  
  


“That’s one less of these idiots we have to deal with ever again,” he said to Sensei. “Good job.” The Pokemon bowed as Hilbert recalled him, his Pokédex chirping as he did so. He took it out of his jacket, and saw that Sensei had leveled up, to level 17, and it time to learn a new move. The move in question was Low Sweep, a 60 base power Fighting-type move with no frills. Given how Sensei’s moveset was not the greatest at the moment, Hilbert immediately replaced Bide with the new move. 

  
  


He then kept walking, the path widening again. Up ahead he could see a place where trees didn’t grow, and as such a large patch of sunlight was allowed to shine down on a boulder covered in moss. The path made a circle around this boulder, and sleeping at its foot, was a pair of Pokemon Hilbert had never seen before. 

  
  


They were Bug/Poison-types, that was clear, both resembling centipedes. The thorax and head of each was mostly magenta, though ring-shaped black markings were on their shoulders, and there was another black marking that looked like an upside down capital letter 'Y' on its neck. Their abdomens were segmented and dark green, four pairs of stubby black legs extending out from them. Their eyes were closed at the moment, but they were huge and bulging. 

  
  


“These are probably those Pokemon Burgh warned me about,” Hilbert said quietly to himself. “Venipede. Better be careful. Don’t wanna wake them.” 

  
  


Unfortunately, much as he tried to stay stealthy, one of the Venipede’s eyes snapped open at his approach, and let out an angry, insectoid chattering, alerting the one near it. Battle was now unavoidable. Hilbert backed up some, grabbing Maru and Logan’s Poke Balls off his belt. Sensei, being a Fighting-type, wouldn’t be too helpful against these Pokemon. He threw out Maru and Logan in turn, and they materialized, ready for action. 

  
  


“Maru, Water Gun! Logan, Bite!” Hilbert yelled. Both his Pokemon leapt into battle, Maru shooting a stream of water out of his mouth at the Venipede on the right and Logan opening his jaws and running for the one on the left. Both Venipede glowed bright green for a split second, then two small, transparent domes of energy surrounded them. Maru’s water stream splashed harmlessly off one energy dome, and a second later, Logan ran headlong into the other, and he bounced off it with a yip. Both domes then vanished, and the Venipede quickly counterattacked, one spitting a poison-laced energy barb from its mouth at Maru, and the other jumping with surprising agility, and ramming Logan with Pursuit, sending him tumbling back.

  
  


Maru was struck in the shoulder by the poison barb, and though it did minimal damage, he turned a sickly purple hue for a second, and he let out a nauseated groan. 

  
  


Hilbert’s eyes widened in alarm. _Oh, shit! Maru’s poisoned! I gotta end this before he faints!_ “Logan, Take Down! Now!” 

  
  


Logan tucked his head and charged with everything he had for the nearest Venipede, while Maru, still rapidly losing health, shot another stream of water at the other. The Venipede glowed green, trying to use Protect again, but the dome didn’t appear. Logan then rammed into his target, sending it flying back to hit the boulder with sickening force. Maru’s Water Gun then landed on the other Venipede, soaking it and doing considerable damage thanks to both STAB and the Mystic Water he was holding. 

  
  


“Yes!” Hilbert cheered. _That protecting move must have a cooldown on it! They can’t use it in succession!_ His joy then turned to horror as the Venipede that had slammed into the boulder got up, and Logan let out a gurgling cough, his fur turning the same sickly purple as Maru’s. “Uh oh…” he said, now very worried. _Dammit, these things must have an ability that causes poison on contact!_

  
  


By now, Maru was coughing frequently, and Hilbert knew that he must be at half health, if not lower, and the recoil damage Logan had suffered from Take Down had been hefty for what it was. The one silver lining he could see was that both Venipede seemed on their last legs as well. 

  
  


“Come on, guys, we can win this! Just one more attack each! Hit whichever’s closest to you with everything you’ve got!” 

  
  


Maru shot one final Water Gun, and Logan, pushing aside the growing nausea, ran for the Venipede with his jaws open, and clamped down on the Venipede. Both attacks were enough to knock out the Centipede Pokemon. Hilbert sighed with relief, running forward and pulling both Antidotes from his bag. He quickly sprayed them on his sick Pokemon, curing them of their poison. 

  
  


“Oh man, that was close,” he said, wiping sweat off his forehead. “Damn fucking bugs... I don’t have any health-restoring items either… shit. Let’s just be a bit more careful from now on. Okay, guys?” He recalled his team members to their Poke Balls, and hurried around the boulder, continuing on. 

  
  


He walked for another thirty minutes, the scenery starting to grow monotonous. _Wish me and Burgh had exchanged Cross-Transceiver numbers before we split… would’ve made this a hell of a lot easier. I hope he’s okay._

  
  


Then, the path started to slightly incline, and at the top of the hill, he could see uninterrupted sunlight. Throwing all caution to the wind, he activated his shoes and ran up it… only to emerge into a situation he wished he was not a part of. 

  
  


Sitting on the ground, bound hand and foot and gagged with cloth, facing him, were a pair of Pokemon Rangers, a man and a woman, with a Plasma grunt behind them, holding a large sack. Thankfully, his back was turned, and his eyes were on the sky, watching it, presumably waiting for the person he could hand the bones off to to fly in. 

  
  


Hilbert was paralyzed, not knowing what to do. Unfortunately, the Rangers, as soon as they saw him, started shouting into their gags, alerting the grunt. “What the hell are you two shouting about- oh, another visitor,” he said as he turned around and noticed Hilbert. The boy noted that he had a knife on his belt with a gulp. 

  
  


“Put your hands up and get on your knees, kid,” the grunt said, unsheathing his knife and grabbing the female Ranger, hauling her to her feet. He placed the blade against the terrified woman’s throat. “Or I’ll slit her throat.” 

  
  


Hilbert instead grabbed Sensei’s Poke Ball and clicked the button twice, opening it in his hand. His Sawk then materialized, taking a fighting stance. “How about I have Sensei here beat your skull in?” Hilbert said, trying to appear more brave than he felt. 

  
  


“Oh, come on,” the grunt said, pressing the knife harder against his hostage’s throat, causing her to let out a muffled shriek. Tears were spilling out of her eyes, making the cloth over her mouth damp. “Like that’s gonna work. Sure, that Sawk _might_ get to me and kill me, but she’ll be bleeding out on the ground before then. I very much doubt you want that to happen.” 

  
  


Unable to form a counter argument, and knowing he was stuck, Hilbert complied, returning Sensei. “Alright, fine.” 

  
  


The grunt smiled. “That’s a good boy. You can take it from here… Sage Gorm.” 

  
  


It was then that Hilbert became aware of a presence behind him. “What the-!?” he cried, trying to whirl around, but was grabbed from behind and a sweet-smelling cloth was pressed over his mouth. He struggled, ramming the elbow of his free right elbow into the stomach of his assailant, causing his grip to loosen enough that he was able to wiggle free. Still, his head swam, a result of having inhaled some of whatever was on the cloth. The grunt was easily able to run over and punch him in the face, making him fall to the ground, and the world went dark as he fell unconscious. 

  
  


Hilbert blinked his eyes open an unknown number of minutes later, lying on his side. He tried to bring his hands to his aching head, but couldn’t. His senses slowly coming back, he tried again, but met with failure once more. He groaned, but it sounded strangely muffled. _Wait…_ _ **what?**_ he thought. Everything then snapped into focus in an instant. He was tied up and gagged, lying on his side (thankfully, his left one) his wrists and ankles both bound. He moved his head, seeing he was about fifteen feet away from the captive Rangers, with the plasma grunt and the strange man who had tried to knock him out near them. 

  
  


The man was wearing dark blue robes of a similar style to Ghetsis, though his were much more plain, not including any of the elaborate designs of that man’s robes. His white hair was neatly combed back, and he had a well-kept white moustache on his upper lip. A large Team Plasma emblem that gleamed in the sunlight adorned the upper chest of the robes. He and the grunt were currently in conversation, making no attempt to hide what they were saying. 

  
  


“But… Sage Gorm! That can’t be!” The grunt said in shock in reply to something that Hilbert had just missed, “After all our hard work to steal the skeleton bones from the Nacrene museum..!” 

  
  


“It was an operation made in haste, it appears, though I am loathe to admit it,” the man- Gorm- said. “I wish it were not so, but these are not the bones of the Legendary Pokemon we seek. Reviving this particular creature from these bones would do us no good.” 

  
  


Hilbert let out a quiet, shocked grunt into his gag. _Wait… Legendary Pokemon? Wasn’t N rambling about something like that when I last saw him? What the hell are Team Plasma up to? What do they want?_

  
  


Gorm, despite his age, had quite adept hearing, having noticed the noise Hilbert made. “Ah, it appears our third hostage is awake. Pity one so young had to meddle in Team Plasma’s business, but that can’t be helped now, can it?” 

  
  


“If you’re looking for your Pokemon, kid, they’re right in here,” the grunt said, holding up the bag containing the Dragonite bones. “I’m sure they’ll be glad to be liberated from you.” 

  
  


_That_ got Hilbert’s attention. His characteristic anger now roused, he made several furious muffled shouts into his gag, struggling against his bonds. 

  
  


“Feh, pathetic,” the grunt said, rolling his eyes. “Trainers are all the damn same.” Turning his attention away from Hilbert, he asked Gorm, “But that does remind me… what do we do with the hostages? I mean, they’ve heard quite a lot, and I don’t think it’d be smart for us to just ransom them back…” A bloodthirsty tone entered his voice on those last few words, and it made Hilbert nervous. 

  
  


Gorm rubbed his chin. “I suppose you are correct in that they know too much. They are yours to deal with as you wish. Just make sure that they stay silent.” 

  
  


Hilbert and the Pokemon Rangers made simultaneous cries of fear into their gags as the grunt pulled his knife out from its sheath, walking over to the Rangers first. He pressed the blade to the man’s throat, Hilbert closing his eyes as the grunt slashed, but he couldn’t block out the gurgling noises as the Ranger choked to death on his own blood. 

  
  


He did the same with the female Ranger, and then slowly started to walk towards Hilbert, knife held in an ice-pick grip. The boy immediately started rubbing his face against the ground, trying to loosen his gag. _If I don’t get this off and call for help, I’m dead!_

  
  


The grunt’s footsteps coming ever closer, Hilbert’s movements becoming ever more quick and desperate, but he could feel the cloth loosening, bit by bit… Then, a lucky break. The cloth caught on a small rock protruding from the ground, and he was able to yank the gag off in one motion. “ _Burgh! Somebody, HELP!”_ he immediately started shouting. “ _I’m over here!”_

  
  


“Damn!” the grunt said as Hilbert kept shouting. “I knew I should have tied that thing tighter..” He leapt at Hilbert with the knife, stabbing downwards. The boy just barely managed to roll out of the way, wincing as pressure was put on his still-tender stitches. 

  
  


The grunt’s blade embedded itself into the grass as a somewhat distant voice yelled, “Hilbert!? Is that you? Hang tight, I’m on my way!” 

  
  


_Burgh! He heard me!_

  
  


“Shit!” the grunt said, working to pull his blade from the dirt. “Come on, you stupid knife..! Get free!” Gorm, meanwhile, was clearly losing patience going by the expression on his face. 

  
  


There was a sudden rustling of leaves as Burgh burst into the clearing, one of his Pokemon- a Leavanny- right behind him. 

  
  


Leavanny was a bipedal Bug/Grass-type that was mainly various shades of green with a yellow head. Its arms had no hands on them, rather being razor-sharp leaves with a crescent shape chunk taken out of each. Its upper arms had a yellow vein on their back half, looking almost like human muscle fibre. Its thorax was rather small and dark green, as were its legs, which ended in sharp yellow points. There was a broad, split leaf around its head, and its yellow abdomen was also covered by a leaf. 

  
  


“Hilbert!” Burgh cried just as the grunt yanked his weapon free. He then grabbed Hilbert and held the boy in front of him like a meat shield, his knife to the Trainer’s neck. 

  
  


“Give it up, you worthless Gym Leader!” the grunt growled. “Recall your Pokemon, or the kid dies!” 

  
  


“Don’t you dare, Burgh!” Hilbert shouted. “Don’t give them another hostage!” 

  
  


Burgh grit his teeth, at a loss for what to do. It was his job as a Gym Leader to protect people, but when dealing with a hostage situation like this… He sighed. “Alright, ya got me,” he said, taking his Leavanny’s Poke Ball off his belt, getting ready to return it. 

  
  


“ _What!?”_ Hilbert shouted. _No! I’m not gonna die here! No damn way!_ Praying that what he was about to do wouldn’t backfire on him and get his throat slit, he whipped his head backwards, catching the grunt on the chin. 

  
  


“Ah!” the grunt cried, more out of shock than pain. He stupidly lowered his knife arm, bringing it up to his face. 

  
  


Burgh, as if he had planned this out with Hilbert beforehand, yelled, “Leavanny, String Shot!” 

  
  


Leavanny spat a long, sticky thread at Hilbert, which splattered on his chest. The Nurturing Pokemon then yanked its head back with great force, pulling Hilbert forward, out of range of the grunt. He yelped as he hit the ground, then Leavanny began dragging him quickly towards it. 

  
  


“No!” Gorm yelled. “You foolish grunt!” 

  
  


“Looks like the tables have turned, huh?” Burgh said. “Now how’s about _you_ give up? Or I’ll have Leavanny cut you into ribbons!” 

  
  


“Never!” Gorm said. “We of the Six Sages will liberate Pokemon with full force, as per the orders of Ghetsis! The odds may be against us this time, but there will be another meeting between us! No more interference from Gym Leaders will be tolerated!” 

  
  


He reached into his robes and pulled out a Smoke Ball, throwing it at the ground. A smokescreen covered the area, and by the time it dissipated, the Sage was already flying off on his Braviary, the grunt held in its talons. 

  
  


“Damn!” Burgh said, clenching his fists. He then turned his attention to freeing Hilbert from his bonds. “Well, that was a pretty bad situation, but it could’ve been worse, right? And geez, these knots! Leavanny, gimme a hand here!” 

  
  


Leavanny carefully sliced through the ropes on Hilbert’s wrists and ankles, the boy taking the opportunity to pull the cloth that was his gag off his neck. “Actually, Burgh… it kinda did turn out bad…” he said, pointing to the bodies of the two Rangers. 

  
  


“Wha..? Oh, _no…”_ Burgh gasped as his gaze followed Hilbert’s pointing finger. He immediately ran over to the fallen Rangers, hoping against hope it wasn’t what he thought it was… but those hopes were dashed as he saw the slashed throats of the bodies. Burgh covered his mouth with his hand, tears welling up in his eyes. ”I… I knew them…” he said, horrified. “Why did this have to happen..? Why..?” He then broke down into sobs, and Hilbert could only watch. 

  
  


_Team Plasma’s gonna pay for this,_ he thought, his expression darkening and a fiery rage blossoming within him. He clenched his hands into tight fists. _I won’t let them cause any more damage to Unova. I swear it._

  
  
  



	15. Chapter 13: The Big City

**Long Way to Fall**

  
  


**By: Rylek196**

  
  


**Chapter 13: The Big City**

  
  


“C’mon, guys!” Cheren called. “I can see the Skyarrow Bridge from here!” Neither Hilbert nor Bianca cared to answer, each too lost in their own thoughts. 

  
  


It was two days after the incident in Pinwheel Forest. Bianca had earned her Basic Badge the day before, the trio making the decision to move on to Unova’s biggest city, and capital, Castelia, after Cheren and Bianca captured additional members for their teams in Pinwheel Forest, though they hadn’t told Hilbert what they were. The murdered Rangers’ bodies had been recovered from the forest to be cremated, as all human corpses were in the world, with the Dragonite bones being returned to the museum. Lenora, in a display Hilbert thought was uncharacteristic of her, comforted a grieving Burgh, telling him to do what he loved- painting- as a way to memorialize his fallen friends. Burgh had dried his tears somewhat, said he would do just that, and returned to the city he called home. 

  
  


For Hilbert, though, the thought that he could have easily joined the Rangers in death weighed heavily on his mind, following him like a raincloud. The fact that most of the Plasma grunts in the forest were arrested also meant nothing to him. With how unreliable the cops were, they’d likely escape in a week. He hadn’t told Cheren and Bianca about what happened, either, even though Bianca noticed the different, somber look in his eyes. 

  
  


And so here they were, making the trek through the busy two-and-a-half kilometre forested path leading west to the Skyarrow Bridge, the gateway to Castelia. Cheren had run ahead, Hilbert was in the middle with his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, and Bianca brought up the rear. This path, while colloquially known as ‘Route 3.5’ to Castelia and Nacrene locals, was not a true Route. Rather, it was simply a connecting area that linked Nacrene to the Skyarrow Bridge. 

  
  


Suddenly, he heard Bianca’s footsteps stop behind him. “...Guys?” she said in a quiet voice, “I… I can’t do this. We’re going into the city, and it’ll be full of strangers, and I can’t help but think something bad will happen… I know it’s irrational, but I’m scared…” 

  
  


Hilbert exhaled heavily through his nostrils, stopping. _Oh, for the love of-!_ he thought. He angrily gestured for Cheren to get back to where he was with sharp waves of his arm, the other boy rushing back with haste. 

  
  


“Bianca? What is it?” Cheren said tenderly. “We have to keep moving.” 

  
  


“I… I can’t,” Bianca said. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but the thought of taking another step _terrifies_ me, and I can’t explain why. My heart’s going a hundred miles an hour right now…” 

  
  


Cheren took her hands in his, and he noticed they were shaking badly. “Bianca, it’s gonna be fine. Stop worrying. If anything goes wrong, either Hilbert or I will be there to help you.” He held up one of his pinkie fingers. “Back each other up. Right, Hilbert?” 

  
  


Hilbert just rolled his eyes, halfheartedly throwing up his pinkie and beginning to walk away. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s just get going.” 

  
  


As the distance between Hilbert and his friends quickly grew, Cheren swallowed, looking at Bianca. “What’s gotten into him?”

  
  


“I don’t… I don’t know,” Bianca said. “He looked kinda… down when he came out of Pinwheel Forest, but I didn’t ask him about it.” She then noticed that Cheren was still holding her hands, and a few people were starting to give them looks, and she blushed. “Um… you can let me go now.” 

  
  


“Oh! Sorry!” Cheren pulled his hands away from hers like they had burned him. “Just kinda forgot, is all.” He rubbed the back of his neck, blushing himself. They stood in awkward silence for another ten seconds until Hilbert’s voice calling them broke them out of their trance, and they rushed to catch up with him. 

  
  


The entrance to the grand white construction known as the Skyarrow Bridge was a large, counterclockwise on-ramp that had two separate lanes divided by white fencing- one for cars, one for people on foot. Hilbert noted there were bathrooms off to the right just before the on-ramp. Once they had actually gotten onto the bridge proper, the Nuvema trio was taken aback by the way the structure dwarfed them. The Skyarrow Bridge was nearly two kilometres long, and from where they were standing as dozens of others passed by them, seemed to go on forever. Far in the distance, though, they could make out the towering skyline of Castelia. 

  
  


Hilbert took a deep breath. “Well… ready, guys?” 

  
  


“A-as I’ll ever be,” Bianca said, Cheren nodding and giving her an encouraging smile. 

  
  


“C’mon, Bianca, you gotta think like Samus here,” he said. “Would she be scared?” 

  
  


A new look came over Bianca just then, one of determined realization. “No… no she wouldn’t. Let’s go.” 

  
  


The trek across the bridge provided some incredible views, with Bianca stopping to admire them constantly, and each time Hilbert’s patience was ground down ever further. He had taken off his hat and stuffed it in his bag so as to not lose it due to the wind on the bridge. Far off in the north, they could make out the faint outline of Marvelous Bridge, which connected Nimbasa City to the White Forest. 

At one point when they were about halfway across the bridge, Bianca stopped to look at the T-shirts a vendor had set up underneath one of the supporting towers, and Hilbert’s patience finally ran out. _Fuck this,_ he thought bitterly, rocking back on his heels and taking off without a word. 

  
  


“Hilbert, wait-!” Cheren cried, but Hilbert was already long gone into the throngs of people. _Seriously, what is_ with _him today?_ he thought, his expression growing angry.

  
  


Hilbert, meanwhile, was ducking and weaving around other pedestrians, just trying to get to the other end of the bridge as fast as possible. At the pace he was going, it took just over another fifteen minutes to get to the entrance of Castelia City, which was the largest gate building in Unova. To make sure Cheren and Bianca couldn’t contact him, he shut off his Cross-Transceiver completely. Inside was a bustle of people trying to enter the metropolis, everyone having separate conversations that blended together into a cacophony of white noise, though Hilbert swore he heard “Team Plasma”, and “released Pokemon” at least once, causing him to scowl. Meanwhile, up on the wall, the electronic bulletin board scrolled several informational tidbits about Castelia by over and over, each one followed by the current date. 

  
  


That all changed when Hilbert stepped past the attendant. All of a sudden, the bulletin board started showing, in flashing capital letters, the word **CONGRATULATIONS!**

  
  


“What the..?” Hilbert said. “What’s going on? Why’s it doing that?” 

  
  


“Oh, I almost forgot about this!” the attendant said. “We began a promotion at the start of this year, and you just won it! You’re the 500,000th person to cross the Skyarrow Bridge this year, which means your prize is a super-exclusive Liberty Pass!” She reached under her desk and handed a small plastic card to Hilbert. “Take this to Liberty Pier on the west side of the city, and a boat there will take you to Liberty Garden! Take care not to lose this.” 

  
  


Still somewhat confused, Hilbert put the card in his bag without a word and exited the gate building, emerging amongst the towering skyscrapers of Castelia City. Immediately, he was struck by a sense of vertigo just looking up at one of the buildings, having to quickly look down to reorient himself. 

  
  


“Okay, first things first,” he said to himself, shaking his head, “Find the Pokemon Center.” 

  
  


The bridge having dumped him out near the west edge of the city, he began his search by going south. Castelia had a thin strip of concrete going all around its circumference, which the piers connected to, providing the city with its gateway to the ocean. These piers, from west to east, were Liberty Pier, Unity Pier, Prime Pier, the Cruise Ship Dock, and another, much smaller pier simply called ‘the Thumb’, which held the entrance to Castelia’s sewer system. These were obviously meant to represent the fingers of a human hand. 

  
  


He passed by the Thumb alongside hundreds of others all going about their day. It was like being in the middle of two opposite-rushing rivers, both made of people. All the while, he kept his gaze trained forward, looking out for the Pokemon Center. 

  
  


It took a while, but when he was near the Cruise Ship Dock, he could see a distinctive white building with red trim along its edges. “That’s gotta be it,” he said to himself, increasing his pace slightly. It was then that a loud fog horn sent his ears ringing. He cried out and turned his head towards the source of the noise, and saw the huge cruise ship _Royal Unova_ pulling into the dock. 

The _Royal Unova_ had been under construction for the past seven years thanks to numerous delays at the shipyards in Slateport City in the Hoenn region, having recently travelled to its namesake region for its maiden voyage. 

  
  


Shaking his head, he turned back to the building. It indeed was the Pokemon Center, but it was unlike any he had seen up to this point. Given Castelia’s size, this one was a skyscraper, a white concrete monolith sixty stories high, with enough rooms to house hundreds of Trainers on their travels. Inside the structure, it was just as busy as the street outside. There were multiple healing stations run by multiple nurses, an entire room off to the left had nothing in it but PC’s, and the Poke Mart had two floors, its shelves stocked to the brim with necessary supplies. 

  
  


Hilbert booked his room in the Pokemon Center, going up to it to change the bandages on his arm. _Gonna need to get these stitches taken out soon,_ he thought. _But it can wait another day or two at least. I hope so._

  
  


He exited the Pokemon Center and went out into the street, considering what to do. _It’s probably not a good idea to go to the Gym right away_. _Burgh would trounce me with the levels my Pokemon are at now. Gotta train up a bit first. Well… that, and I don’t even know where the Gym is._

  
  


Deciding to keep making his way around the circumference of the city and move north, into the city, once he got to about the midpoint, he continued on. He passed by Prime Pier, the sunlight reflecting off the windows of the skyscrapers, including one building called the Battle Company, where a street performer had set up shop. He did his best to resist the urge to look at them, not wishing to experience the sense of vertigo again, but it became almost impossible to do so once he started moving into the city itself. 

  
  


_Geez… Nuvema’s a far cry from this,_ he thought. _All these buildings are so tall!_ In fact, he was so engrossed in looking at the buildings he nearly ran into people several times. 

  
  


Eventually, after about twenty minutes of walking, he came to a small plaza with a fountain in the middle. There was a small crowd of about fifteen people gathered near said foundation, and hearing a hip-hop beat that made a thudding sound in his eardrums, he made his way over to the side to see what was going on. What he saw was another dancer, his dreadlocks flailing around as he performed a series of elaborate breakdancing moves. His routine went on for another minute before, with one last twirl off the rim of the fountain, he stopped and took a bow. The crowd burst into applause, many of them going up to him to tap Cards with him. Hilbert noticed something strange about the man, though: whenever he tapped Trainer Cards with another person, he tapped his chest. 

  
  


_What the..? Why is he doing that?_ Hilbert thought. 

  
  


As the crowd started to disperse, the dancer noticed the boy in the blue jacket looking at him- and more specifically, the four Poke Balls on his belt. “Ah wait, hold up, everybody!” he said, pointing at Hilbert. “We’ve got a bit of an aftershow here, because I’ve spotted a Trainer to battle!” 

  
  


Hilbert just rolled his eyes and grit his teeth, knowing he couldn’t turn down a direct challenge. The dancer threw out the same Pokemon Cilan used- a Pansage. Hilbert had a feeling, though, that this one was higher level than Cilan’s. _Then again, if it is, that could be a good thing,_ he thought. _Sensei’s kinda lagging behind in terms of levels._

  
  


His mind made up, he threw out his Sawk. The Karate Pokemon stared down its opponent, and to even the odds, Hilbert commanded him to use Focus Energy. Sensei then ran forward before the Grass Monkey Pokemon could react, and pivoted on his left heel, bringing his right foot to bear and slamming it into the Pansage’s head, sending it tumbling away. The Pansage recovered surprisingly quickly, hopping to its feet and lashing out with a Vine Whip as Sensei made to deliver the second kick. 

  
  


The blow landed, causing the crowd to let out cries of approval. _Apparently this guy’s got the people on his side,_ Hilbert thought. Meanwhile, Sensei was dodging repeated cracks of the Pansage’s Vine Whip, each one coming closer and closer to hitting him. “Sensei, Leer!” Hilbert yelled. 

  
  


Sensei stopped trying to dodge, and just as the Pansage drew back its arm to strike with the whip again, his eyes glowed, freezing the Grass Monkey in place. He then ran towards the helpless Pansage, kicking it again. Not giving it any leeway, he then brought his foot down on the Pansage in an axe-kick, knocking it out. Hilbert’s Pokédex chirped as Sensei went up another level, his hunch proven correct. 

  
  


The crowd vocalized its disappointment at the dancer’s loss, then began to disperse as Hilbert and the dancer recalled their Pokemon. Hilbert walked up to the dancer, taking out his Trainer Card to collect his prize money. 

  
  


“You got some skills there, man,” the dancer said, tapping his Card against Hilbert’s, and touching his chest as he did so. 

  
  


“Thanks,” Hilbert said flatly. He looked at the amount of money on his Trainer Card, his expression growing angry. “What the hell!? That was only 200 Pokedollars! You should have given me more than that!” 

  
  


The dancer smirked, reaching into his shirt and pulling out a golden coin that he wore as a necklace. “Relax, man. This is the secret to my success. It’s called an Amulet Coin. It doubles the money I get from anyone who likes my dancing enough to make a donation, and cuts the money I have to give up when I lose.” 

  
  


“So basically, you’re a scam artist,” Hilbert said, grumpily crossing his arms. 

  
  


“Hey, it’s not like I _force_ anyone to pay me,” the dancer said. “If they wanna, that’s their choice.” 

  
  


The boy just rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said, and began to walk away. 

  
  


“Wait, hold up!” the dancer said. “I might be willing to part with this… but you’ll have to do somethin’ for me first. Did I mention that this thing is a Pokemon hold item as well? With your skills, you’ll be able to rack up a fortune in no time!” 

  
  


Hilbert’s mind immediately launched into visions of him in swim trunks, diving into a giant pool full of golden coins. He licked his lips greedily, and the dancer knew he had the young Trainer hook, line, and sinker. “Alright, I’m listening,” Hilbert said. 

  
  


“Good, good,” the dancer said. “To tell the truth, I’ve been lookin’ to form a dance crew for a while now. This solo gig is kinda getting boring, y’know? So, what I want you to do, is find me two other people and convince them to join me! And it has to be by the end of today!” 

  
  


“What!?” Hilbert cried. “Are you _nuts?_ That’s gonna be impossible! It’d be like finding a needle in a haystack with a city this big!” 

  
  


“Well, then no Amulet Coin for you, I guess,” the dancer said, tauntingly spinning the item by rubbing its string between his fingers. 

  
  


Hilbert let out an audible growl. “Alright, I’ll do my best,” he said at last. “But no promises.” 

  
  


“By the way, the name’s Mickey!” the dancer called as Hilbert walked away. 

  
  


After he had disappeared into the crowd, out of Mickey’s sight, Hilbert sighed to himself. _Why did I agree to this?_ he thought. _Asking me to find two other dancers- that’s insane! Wait… didn’t I see one outside that one building? The Battle Company, right?_

  
  


The realization striking him like a lightning bolt from nowhere, he rocked back on his heels, and began running back towards the outer edge of the city. By the time he got there, it was nearly 12:00 according to his watch, and his stomach growled, crying out for food. Luckily, him being in Castelia, there were no shortage of places to grab an inexpensive pizza slice from. He stopped in at one of these places, buying a slice for 100 Pokedollars and eating it on the go. 

  
  


To avoid getting a painful stomach cramp, he was forced to walk to his destination, and he eventually managed to do so after about half an hour. To his relief, the dancer was still in front of the Battle Company, performing for a small group. Noticing the Poke Ball attached to the guy’s belt, Hilbert joined the crowd, waiting for him to be done, which took about two more minutes. 

  
  


After the dancer had taken a bow, the boy decided to make a move. “Hey!” he called. “I wanna battle you… on one condition.” 

  
  


“Alright, alright,” the dancer said. “What’s the condition?” 

  
  


“There’s another dancer named Mickey near a fountain not too far away from here,” Hilbert said. “If I win, you have to go join him in a dance crew.” 

  
  


“And if _I_ win?” 

  
  


Hilbert smirked. “Then I’ll give you double prize money. Deal?” 

  
  


“Sounds good, kid!” the dancer said, grabbing the Poke Ball off his belt and enthusiastically tossing it out. “Go, Pansear!” 

  
  


The Pokemon he threw out seemed to be a relative of Pansage, as it looked extremely similar. It was a small simian-like Pokemon with a dark cream torso and arms, while its lower body was red. The main difference between it and Pansage was the shape of the fur on its head. Unlike Pansage, whose fur resembled broccoli, this looked like a small flame, like the head of a burning torch. Either way, it was clearly a Fire-type, and that made Hilbert’s choice a no-brainer. 

  
  


“Go, Maru!” he yelled, throwing out his starter. The dancer’s face visibly fell as he saw the Water-type, and Hilbert smirked again. “Water Gun! Now!” 

  
  


The Dewott sprayed a high-pressure stream of water from his mouth, blasting the Pansear right in the face, sending it tumbling back, knocked out in one hit. The crowd gave Hilbert a round of polite applause as he walked up to the dancer, tapping Trainer Cards with him. 

  
  


“Aw, damn…” the dancer muttered. “After all that time I spent in the Battle Company earlier today, too…” 

  
  


“Wait, what?” Hilbert said, gesturing to the building with an upwards tilt of his head. “What does this place do?” 

  
  


“They’re an R&D thinktank for developing Pokemon battling items,” the dancer replied. “Think they’re a branch of Silph Co…. Anyway, you should go there if ya have time. They’re always welcoming towards Trainers. Ya might get a Pokemon up a few levels.” 

  
  


“I might,” Hilbert said, crossing his arms. “Regardless, a deal’s a deal. Go meet Mickey at the fountain, and tell him I sent you.” 

  
  


“Alright, I’m goin’, I’m goin’!” the dancer said. “Geez, you’re kinda pushy, ya know that?” 

  
  


_I have damn good reason to be,_ Hilbert thought darkly, but said nothing as the dancer packed up his things and walked off. He looked down at his starter. “Well, Maru? What do you wanna do? Up for more battles, or do you wanna sightsee while looking for another dancer?” 

  
  


The Dewott made an excited clicking noise with its teeth, pointing towards the building. 

  
  


_Guess that answers that._ Hilbert returned Maru to his Poke Ball, going into the building’s lobby. The lobby was large, but with sparse furnishings, and a flat-screen TV mounted on the right wall. There was a secretary’s desk off to the left, and two elevators on the far wall. Hilbert walked up to the secretary’s desk, telling the woman behind it that he was a Trainer and if anything was going on. 

  
  


“Oh, of course!” she replied. She tapped a few keys on her computer’s keyboard, bringing up a schedule on the monitor on her desk. “In fact, there’s a research tournament in progress in the basement right now. It goes until three today. Take the elevator on the right if you want to join in. We hold all tournaments in the basement.” 

  
  


“Okay, thanks.”

  
  


Hilbert walked into the elevator, pressing the button marked ‘B1’ on the panel. The elevator then began its smooth descent into the building’s underground. Ten seconds later, the doors opened, and Hilbert walked out into a scene of organized chaos. 

  
  


The room resembled an underground car parking lot, just much better lit. A Pokemon battle arena had been painted on the concrete floor, and currently, a cheering crowd of Battle Company employees was gathered around it, creating a cacophony of noise that, combined with the sounds of the battle they were watching, was deafening. No one had even noticed his arrival over the noise. 

  
  


_This seems less like a serious R &D company and more like a rowdy bunch of drunks, _he thought, walking towards the crowd and tapping the nearest person on the shoulder. 

  
  


The man nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around to see the teen standing behind him. “Dammit, you scared the hell outta me!” he shouted above the noise. 

  
  


“What’s going on!?” Hilbert hollered as well. 

  
  


“We’re just finishing up a tournament to test out a new type of X-item!” the man loudly replied. “We still need to do a bit more testing, ‘cause some of them were duds, so we’re holding another tournament after this one! If you wanna join in, just wait a couple more minutes! We’re on the last fight of this one!” 

  
  


Hilbert just nodded, pushing his way through the crowd to watch the last few minutes of the battle. The Trainers currently fighting were a guy in a lab coat with a Sewaddle versus a woman in a pale pink blouse and skirt with a Cottonee. 

  
  


Sewaddle was a Bug/Grass-type that resembled a caterpillar. It had a broad leaf around its yellow head that looked like a hood, and its neck was white. It had two tiny, sharp teeth sticking out of its orange, crescent-shaped mouth, and its green body had three segments, out of which six stubby, orange globes that were its feet were attached. 

  
  


Cottonee, meanwhile, was a Grass-type that looked, obviously, like a ball of cotton. It had oval orange eyes, and two leaves sticking out of either side of its body. On its back, there was a green, star-shaped growth. 

  
  


Though the lady with the Cottonee was fighting hard, and even managed to paralyze the Sewaddle with Stun Spore, but in the end, the Grass-type was no match for the Sewaddle’s super-effective Bug-type moves. 

  
  


The crowd around the arena burst into applause, Hilbert covering his ears. _This crowd is getting on my nerves,_ he thought. 

  
  


The next tournament then began shortly after, with Hilbert pitted against his first opponent, a woman named Ingrid. With no explanation on how to use them, he was given a handful of cylindrical plastic capsules with domed tops, each of a different colour. Thankfully, they were at least labeled, so he could tell what stat each capsule was supposed to raise- the pale red one was an attack boost, the dark blue a defense boost, the baby blue one a speed boost, and the grayish-yellow one raised special attack. 

  
  


“Remember, this is as much for research and quality control as it is for fun,” Ingrid said. “If your Pokemon stats don’t go up by two stages when you send them out, then that means the X-item was a dud. If that happens, just recall the Pokemon and send out another one- no harm no foul.” 

  
  


She pressed the top of a blue capsule to the front button of her Poke Ball, causing both to glow for a second, then tossed it out, revealing a Herdier. A blue aura then surrounded the Loyal Dog Pokemon, followed by another, indicating its defense was now raised by two stages. 

  
  


_That thing’s a tank now,_ Hilbert thought, considering his options. _I don’t think Sensei could break through it without an attack boost, but should I use the X-item in the first round?_

  
  


The crowd of employees, meanwhile, was getting restless, calling for him to do something. Hilbert growled like an animal at their shouting, the noise grating on his nerves. _Looks like I’ve got no choice._ He took his Sawk’s Poke Ball off his belt and used the attack X-item on it. He tossed out Sensei’s Poke Ball, knowing that he couldn’t afford for him to take any more damage given how Mickey’s Pansage had already landed a hit. 

  
  


“Herider, Take Down!” Ingrid commanded. Herider ran towards Sensei with frightening speed, but Sensei still had enough time to get off a Leer, the red glare his eyes were giving off stopping his enemy in its tracks. 

  
  


“Low Sweep!” Hilbert yelled, and Sensei obeyed, running at the Herdier, lashing out with a sweeping kick when he got close enough, upending it and causing it to crash onto its side. However, thanks to the X-defend, it wasn’t near enough to knock out the Herdier, even with Sensei’s dramatically boosted attack. Plus, his ankle was within range of the Herdier’s jaws, and it decided to take full advantage of that, chomping down with sharp jaws. 

  
  


Sensei cried out in pain, shaking his leg around to try and dislodge his opponent, to no avail. Though he knew the attack wasn’t very effective, nervous sweat still ran down the side of Hilbert’s face. _Dammit, I can’t let Sensei take any more damage!_ he thought. _I’m gonna have to bench him for the rest of this, much as I don’t want to._

  
  


Sensei had finally managed to shake the Herdier off his leg, and used Double Kick, with the attack being just barely enough to knock it out. 

  
  


Hilbert and Ingrid both recalled their Pokemon, then stood aside to let the next pair of Trainers do battle. The two after them threw out a Woobat and a Roggenrola. 

  
  


Roggenrola was a pure Rock-type that was primarily dark blue in colour, with brown feet and a brown oblong rock atop its head. It was roughly spherical, and there was a yellow, hexagonal shape in the middle of its body. 

  
  


The battle lasted an annoyingly long time, thanks to the Roggenrola’s slow speed and the Woobat’s penchant for dodging, but eventually the guy with the Roggenrola came out on top by landing a lucky X-attack boosted Rock Blast. 

  
  


“Ready, kid?” the Roggenrola Trainer said, giving his Pokemon another X-attack and throwing it out. 

  
  


Hilbert didn’t say anything, just giving his Drilbur the X-speed. _Scrapper_ does _need the experience, after all,_ he thought, tossing out his Pokemon. 

  
  


After the auras had faded, the Roggenrola made the first move, forming three white balls of energy in front of it that quickly materialized into rocks, then launched them at high speed towards the Drilbur. Thanks to the X-speed, he was able to duck and dodge two of them, but the third struck him in the face, sending him careening backwards. 

  
  


“Keep it up, Roggenrola! Headbutt!” the guy said. With agonizing slowness, the Roggenrola tottered forward, though it was building up speed. 

  
  


Scrapper pushed himself to his feet, saw the Roggenrola coming towards him, and ran forward himself, his claws taking on a metallic, almost white sheen as he did so. He slashed at the Roggenrola with Metal Claw, the super-effective attack doing a number on the Mantle Pokemon, despite its naturally high defense stat. 

  
  


The Roggenrola was sent flying backwards, and in a cruel reversal of where it had been just seconds earlier, was now being set upon by its opponent. Scrapper showed no mercy, slashing it repeatedly with Metal Claw until it went down. 

  
  


It was at this point that Hilbert noticed something: the crowd around the arena had gone relatively silent, save for a few people whispering, “Wow, he’s good!” and, “I’ve gotta admit, the kid’s got talent,” among other things. It was thanks to this silence that everyone heard the elevator ding as it reached its destination. Everybody turned as one as a janitor with a bushy gray moustache in a green jumpsuit walked out, all but Hilbert either gasping or saying, “It’s the boss! What’s he doing down here?” 

  
  


Needless to say, the boy was confused. “What do you mean ‘it’s the boss?’” he said. “That’s just the janitor.” Immediately, everyone gave him a look, and he got the feeling that he said something wrong, even if he wasn’t able to tell what. 

  
  


“ _Just_ the janitor? Tsk, tsk, tsk, that stings, sonny boy,” the janitor said, walking towards Hilbert and standing over him. “You need to learn to be more respectful of your elders.” 

  
  


“Oh yeah? Give me a reason why I should,” Hilbert said through gritted teeth, glaring up at the man. 

  
  


“Because it’s just common decency for one thing,” the janitor said, reaching into the breast pocket of his jumpsuit and pulling out an ID badge. “And because this ‘janitor’ might just happen to be this company’s CEO.” 

  
  


Hilbert’s jaw dropped as he got a look at the badge. The small headshot on it and the person standing in front of him matched perfectly, and it read, ‘Geoff Andrews- CEO’. “Then… then… what the hell’s up with the janitor thing?” he asked in disbelief. 

  
  


“It’s mainly because I like screwing with the heads of any Trainer who happens to come in here,” Geoff replied, sliding the card back into his pocket. “Plus I’m a workaholic by nature, and cleaning up the building is kinda my hobby.” 

  
  


Hilbert just rolled his eyes. _Man, people in Castelia are weird_. 

  
  


Before he could say anything else, an employee piped up. “So, what brings you down here, sir?” 

  
  


“Meh, just wanted to see how the testing of the new X-items are going,” Geoff said. “But it appears I missed all the fun. Shame, that. I was itching for a good battle or two to loosen up…” 

  
  


“Then you’ve gotta battle this kid, sir!” another person said. “He’s young, but he’s really good!” 

  
  


“He is, huh?” Geoff said, rubbing his chin. “Believe it when I see it.” 

  
  


“Then you’re gonna see it right now,” Hilbert said confidently, though there was an impatient edge to his tone. 

  
  


A smirk crawled its way across Geoff’s face, clearly finding Hilbert’s attitude amusing. “Alright, you asked for it.” Turning to his employees, he added, “You all know the drill. Stand back, ‘cause you know what I’m packing.” 

  
  


Everyone obeyed, retreating to the edges of the room, and Hilbert got a sinking feeling in his stomach. _Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. This guy’s probably pretty powerful if he’s telling everyone to back off, but there’s no turning back now._

  
  


The two took opposite sides on either end of the arena, each taking a Poke Ball off their belt, Hilbert taking Maru’s and giving him the X-Sp. Atk, while Geoff gave his Pokemon an X-Defense. 

  
  


“Go, Trubbish!” Geoff yelled, throwing out his Pokemon. The particular monster that appeared was one of the most disgusting things Hilbert had ever seen, not helped by the horrible odour it gave off. 

  
  


Trubbish was a Poison-type that, quite literally, looked like a small green trash bag come to life. The ‘knot’ at the top of the bag served as ears of sorts, and further adding to its off-putting appearance, were its bulbous eyes and sharp teeth that looked like a piece of broken glass sticking out of its upper jaw. On top of all that, its arms were made of the garbage that had spilled out from rips in either side of the bag. 

  
  


Hilbert immediately covered his mouth and nose with a hand, gagging at the stench. “What the _fuck_ is that thing!?” he cried. “How can you stand that smell!?” 

  
  


“When you’ve been with this thing for as long as I have, ya get used to it,” Geoff said. “Nose-blindness is a thing, you know. Now send out your Pokemon, or I’m considering this battle a win by default!” 

  
  


_Now I know why he wanted his employees to move away…_ Hilbert thought. “Maru, get out there! Water Gun, if you can!” 

  
  


Tossing out his starter, he was unsurprised to see Maru do the same as him at Trubbish’s stench, hacking and covering his nose with a paw. Though the Dewott’s nose was small, it was fairly sensitive. Doing his best to follow his Trainer’s orders, he sprayed a high-pressure stream of water out of his mouth, hitting Trubbish in the face. 

  
  


This did, thanks to the X-Sp. Atk, did quite a number, but the Trubbish didn’t go down. It retaliated by lurching forward a bit and then spitting a vile stream of viscous black fluid out of mouth, not dissimilar to vomit, at Maru. The Dewott, too distracted by the Trubbish’s smell, was unable to dodge, getting covered in and knocked back by the Sludge attack. Worse, Maru turned the same sickly purple hue he had in Pinwheel Forest. 

  
  


This instantly brought the bad memories of the previous day rushing back. Fights against the Plasma grunts, the Venipede, getting captured, watching the Rangers die-! 

  
  


_No! Not again! NEVER AGAIN!_ the boy mentally screamed. Hilbert looked directly at Geoff, shocking the man with the sheer hatred he saw burning in his eyes. “Maru, _take that thing out! NOW!”_ Hilbert roared. Hearing the passionate rage in his Trainer’s voice, Maru put the nausea he was feeling aside and spat another Water Gun at the Trubbish. 

  
  


This was more than enough to knock the Trubbish out, sending it flipping end over end through the air before crashing to the floor as gravity took hold again. 

  
  


“Well… didn’t see that coming,” Geoff said. “You okay, kid?” 

  
  


“Just shut up and send out your next Pokemon!” Hilbert yelled. “Let’s get this over with!” 

  
  


“Okay, okay!” Geoff said. “No need to get so angry for no reason.” 

  
  


_I have_ more _than good enough reason to be angry_! Hilbert thought, but said nothing, only narrowing his eyes to slits. 

  
  


“Minccino, you’re up!” Geoff said, tossing out his second, and final, Pokemon. 

  
  


Minccino was a gray chinchilla-like creature with soft and fluffy fur. Its eyes were large and brown, with huge ears that had pinkish-red insides partially covered by tufts of fur. There were more of these tufts on its head and chin, almost looking like a beard. Its tail was fluffy and looked like a feather duster. 

  
  


“Swift!” Geoff yelled. Minccino gathered energy around it, then shot a volley of star-shaped bursts at its opponent. Maru, despite the nausea of the poison rapidly taking hold and draining his health, acrobatically dodged all the stars launched his way, only for them to turn in midair and come right back at him like a boomerang.

  
  


“Maru, look out!” Hilbert cried, but it was too late. The stars slammed into Maru’s back, each causing a small explosion when it did so. The Dewott was thrown forward, but managed to push himself to his feet, knowing he was mere seconds away from fainting. 

  
  


Minccino then made sure he would by bounding forward with speed that belied its small size, whipped Maru in the face with its tail. Maru had been expecting this to do no damage, but was instead greeted with a bone-hard tail, hitting him with the force of a crowbar swung at high speed. He was sent flying back, knocked out. 

  
  


Hilbert knew he was quickly getting backed into a corner, but his anger hadn’t dissipated. _Still got Logan, and I’ve got one X-item left,_ he thought. _Time to fuckin’ use them!_

  
  


He gave Logan the X-Defense, hoping it would give him an edge, then threw him out. Minccino scampered back to its side of the arena as the two blue auras finished surrounding Logan. The Loyal Dog Pokemon then ran forward, building up an incredible amount of force as he did so. The Minccino started to gather energy in front of it, but it was too late. Logan rammed into it with enough force to damage himself, sending it flying past Geoff before skidding to a stop against the left wall, knocked out. 

  
  


Still breathing heavily from anger, Hilbert recalled Logan without a word, the battle over. Geoff recalled his Minccino, then rubbed the back of his head. “Well, uh… dang,” he said. “Looks like everyone saying you were strong was right. Mind telling me what that outburst was about, though? Ya seemed pretty angry there.” 

  
  


“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Hilbert said. He started walking towards the elevator, giving a dismissive wave of his arm. “I think I’m done here.” 

  
  


“W-wait!” Geoff said, running after him. “Let me at least give you a reward for that!” 

  
  


Hilbert stopped in his tracks, his finger an inch away from the elevator’s ‘UP’ button. “Fine. What is it?” 

  
  


“It’s this,” Geoff said, taking a green orb with gold circuitry patterns all over it out of his back pocket, handing it to Hilbert. “That’s an Experience Share, or Exp. Share,” the man continued, seeming to anticipate Hilbert’s question. “It does exactly as the name suggests- give it to a Pokemon to hold, and they’ll share the experience gained by the battling Pokemon, even if they didn’t participate in the battle.” 

  
  


“This’ll definitely come in handy,” Hilbert said, putting the Exp. Share in his bag. “Thanks.”

  
  


With that, he entered the elevator, going back up to ground level. Geoff just rubbed the back of his head again. “Weird kid,” he muttered, before turning to his employees. “Alright, everybody, show’s over! Let’s get back to work! We’ve got X-items to perfect!” 

  
  


Back in the elevator, Hilbert checked his watch. _Ah shit, it’s nearly three! I gotta hurry up and find another dancer willing to join Mickey or I’ll miss out on the Amulet Coin!_

  
  


The elevator doors opened with a _ding!_ letting Hilbert out into the lobby, and the receptionist waved him over. “How’d it go?” she asked with a friendly smile. 

  
  


“As… well as can be expected,” Hilbert answered uneasily. “Listen, are there any street performers or dancers near here that you know of? And can you heal my Pokemon for me here?” 

  
  


“Oh, of course!” the receptionist said, taking out a few Super Potions from behind her desk. “We don’t have a healing machine, so this is the best I can do for you. As for the dancer, I recall seeing one on Unity Pier on my break yesterday.” 

  
  


“Sweet, thanks,” Hilbert said. He healed his Pokemon, and left. Luckily, Unity Pier was just a stone’s throw away from the Battle Company, and even better, he found the dancer there, just as the secretary said. Just like with the other two, there was a small crowd around him, and Hilbert waited until he was done with his performance before he approached him, inquiring about Mickey’s idea. The dancer was wearing a T-shirt with the logo of Castelia City’s baseball team on it. Castelia and Nimbasa’s baseball teams had a fierce, yet friendly, rivalry, rivalry between each other, and the games where they faced off in Nimbasa’s Big Stadium always sold out. 

  
  


To Hilbert’s complete lack of surprise, the dancer wanted a battle, and Hilbert gave it to him. The man sent out the final of the three elemental monkey Pokemon, Panpour, to fight. 

  
  


Panpour was similar in appearance to its brethren, but its body was predominantly cream, with only the upper extremes of its torso, as well as half its head, being blue. Its oval eyes were closed, giving it a zen-like air about it. Atop its head was a crest resembling a wave, with a blue three-leaf clover shape on the end of its tail. 

  
  


The fight was tough, with Hilbert having no answers to Water-types save for hitting them hard with Sensei, but he came out on top with a series of Double Kicks after dodging a Water Gun, making the Sawk level up. 

  
  


“Well, a deal’s a deal, I guess,” the dancer said. “Where’s this guy you were talking about, again?” 

  
  


“Near a fountain in the central plaza,” Hilbert said. “I’ll lead ya there. Gotta collect my reward for doing this for Mickey, after all.” 

  
  


When they finally reached the fountain, Mickey was beside himself. “Man, you actually did it!” he exclaimed. “Had my doubts for a while there, gonna be honest, but now I have my dance crew!” 

  
  


“I hope you haven’t forgotten your end of the bargain,” Hilbert said, folding his arms across his chest impatiently. 

  
  


“‘Course man!” Mickey said. He took the Amulet Coin off his neck and tossed it to Hilbert, who caught it. 

  
  


“I guess that’s all,” Hilbert said. “Good luck with your dance crew, Mickey.” 

  
  


“Happy trails, man!” Mickey called after him as he walked away, vanishing into the crowds. 

  
  


_Alright, I think that’s enough excitement for today,_ Hilbert said. _Time to head back to the Pokemon Center._

  
  


He could have caught a taxi there, but decided to do a bit more sightseeing by walking. It took him nearly another hour to get there, making it almost five in the evening according to his watch by the time he walked into the Center’s doors. Much to his displeasure, Cheren and Bianca were sitting in the lounge, and Bianca spotted him, excitedly pointing him out to Cheren. 

  
  


“Hilbert!” Cheren called. “Get over here now! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” 

  
  


_Dammit,_ Hilbert thought, making his way over to the chair opposite the couch Cheren and Bianca sat in, taking a seat himself. 

  
  


“You’re getting a real bad habit of leaving us behind, you know that?” Cheren said. “First on Route 2, and now this.” 

  
  


“Says the guy who just up and left me on Route 3,” Hilbert countered without missing a beat. 

  
  


“Guys, can we not fight?” Bianca said. “Please? Seriously Hilbert, where were you all day?” 

  
  


“Let’s just say I was making my way around town,” Hilbert replied. “Got some good items, too.” He reached into his bag, pulling out both the Liberty Pass and the Experience Share, but decided to keep the Amulet Coin a secret. 

  
  


Cheren’s eyes widened in awe. “No way! A Liberty Pass!? They only give a few of those things out every few years! How the hell did you get one?” 

  
  


“Apparently I was the 500,000th person this year to cross the Skyarrow Bridge,” Hilbert shrugged. “Some kinda contest or promotion, I don’t know.”

  
  


“Lucky bastard,” Cheren muttered under his breath. “What’s the other thing?” 

  
  


“That’s an Experience Share,” Hilbert said. “I got it from a place called the Battle Company. It does pretty much what you’d think it does- shares experience between your Pokemon. Dunno how it works, don’t really care. Anyway, what’ve you two been up to?”

  
  


“Looking for you, obviously,” Cheren said. “We tried to call you, but your Cross-Transceiver was off. Thanks for that, by the way. I just _love_ wild goose chases.” The sarcasm could have been scraped off his tone with a knife. 

  
  


“Cheren, stop,” Bianca said. “We’re all here, and that’s what counts, right? Let’s go out for some sightseeing and dinner. I’m getting hungry.” 

  
  


“Alright, fine,” Cheren said. “I guess we did see some interesting things.” 

  
  


The rest of the day was spent wandering around the city, just taking in the sights. Bianca was concerned, though, about Hilbert’s brooding silence throughout most of it. 

  
  


_This isn’t like him,_ she thought. _What happened in Pinwheel Forest to do this to him?_

  
  


By the time they returned to the Pokemon Center for bed, it was nearly ten at night, but while Cheren and Bianca drifted off quickly, Hilbert stayed awake for more than ten minutes, staring up at the ceiling. _Is going on this journey really worth it? I know a lot of people do it, but they didn’t have to watch anyone die, either. I don’t think I have a choice, but still. I don’t want to go through anything like that again._

  
  


Closing his eyes, he fell into an uneasy rest. 

  
  


“You _fool!”_ Ghetsis yelled, delivering another punch right to Gorm’s forehead. The lesser Sage was already bruised and bloody, though it wasn’t like he could defend himself, being held in place by Cofagrigus’s Psychic while Ghetsis unleashed his onslaught upon him. 

  
  


The other person in the room, another of the Plasma Sages named Bronius, looked on as Ghetsis continued with his beating of Gorm, confused. He wore identical robes to that of Gorm, but his were brown instead of blue. When Gorm had come back from Pinwheel Forest reporting on the failure to steal the Dragonite bones (albeit with the silver lining that the bones meant nothing to them, anyway) Ghetsis hadn’t so much as batted an eye. However, when Gorm told him of the two Rangers they had captured and executed, Ghetsis flew into a rage, immediately killing the grunt responsible and then continuing to take his anger out on Gorm. 

  
  


“You complete imbecile!” Ghetsis continued, punching Gorm again. “Why did you order those Rangers killed!?” 

  
  


Bronius, seeing Gorm was getting weaker, decided to intervene, stepping forward. “Lord Ghetsis, if I may interrupt… What is the purpose of this? You can’t tell me you actually care about a few worthless civilian casualties, do you?” 

  
  


Ghetsis went deathly quiet, and then without warning, whipped around, backhanding Bronius across the face with a closed fist. The impact was like getting hit with a steel ball on the end of a chain, and Bronius let out a pained, “ _Oof!”_ as he was sent tumbling to the floor. 

  
  


“‘Do I care about civilian casualties?’” Ghetsis said in a mocking imitation of Bronius’s voice. He grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him up off the floor with one arm. “ _Do you think I care!? OF COURSE NOT!”_ He threw Bronius away, Bronius gladly taking the impact of the tile floor over the snapped neck it easily could have been. “What I _do_ care about is our operations!” Ghetsis continued, turning back to Gorm and pointing at him. “Which _you_ could have disrupted with your shortsightedness! We are supposed to have the people of Unova eating out the palms of our hands, and strike when the time is right! Then was not the time! You could have derailed _everything_ with that one move. I truly do hope you understand the gravity of your failure here, Gorm.” 

  
  


Gorm could only weakly look up at him. Ghetsis scoffed, motioning to his Pokemon. “Cofagrigus, let him go. I think he’s had enough.” 

  
  


The Coffin Pokemon let out an unearthly noise, and the pink outline around Gorm’s body vanished, Gorm collapsing to the floor, groaning in pain. Smirking, Ghetsis gave him one last kick in the stomach. Standing over him, he said, “Think on your failure, and know that next time, every action you perform is for the good of the organization. _Not_ yourself. Bronius, see to the wounds of this incompetent. I must check in with Zinzolin. I can only hope his smuggling operation in Driftveil is going smoothly. My patience can be tested only so many times per day.” 

  
  


As he was walking out of the room, Gorm spoke up. “L-Lord Ghetsis! There… there was one other we managed to take prisoner! A boy… he wore a blue jacket!” 

  
  


“Yes, I’ve heard of him,” Ghetsis said without turning around. “I will have N deal with him eventually.” Without another word, Ghetsis left the room, but inwardly, his thoughts were a bubbling cauldron. _N will no doubt be up to the task of breaking that boy’s spirit over his knee. If not… more drastic action will be required._


	16. Chapter 14: Operation: Rescue Munna!

**Long Way to Fall**

  
  


By: Rylek196 

  
  


Chapter 14: Operation: Rescue Munna!

  
  


“So anyway, I was thinking of taking on the Gym today,” Cheren said after swallowing a spoonful of cereal, causing Hilbert to raise a brow. 

  
  


“ _Now?”_ he said, incredulous. “With your Pokemon at the levels they are? You’re gonna get slaughtered!” 

  
  


“Oh, ye of little faith,” Cheren repiled, waving him off. “I caught that Pidove in Pinwheel Forest for a _reason,_ you know.” 

  
  


At the mention of that location’s name, Bianca, who was sitting across from Hilbert and next to Cheren in the Pokemon Center’s lounge, noticed his expression darken slightly. “Hilbert, are you okay?” she asked. “You’re a little… on edge lately.” 

  
  


Hilbert‘s eyes darted up and to the left for a second, searching for an excuse. “It’s nothing, don’t worry,” he said, though Bianca didn’t seem entirely convinced. 

  
  


“...Okay, I won’t pry,” she said meekly. 

  
  


It was the day after the Nuvema Trio’s arrival in Castelia, making it the morning of March 19th, and they were currently discussing their plans for the day over breakfast. “Hilbert, don’t worry,” Cheren said between another mouthful of his cereal. “If Castelia’s Gym is anything like Nacrene’s, it’ll employ other Trainers that I can beat to level up my team before I take on Burgh.” 

  
  


“If you can get even that far…” Hilbert muttered under his breath. 

  
  


Hearing this, Cheren’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “What was that?” he snarled. “You think I can’t make it?” 

  
  


“No… just… whatever,” Hilbert said. 

  
  


Cheren frowned, but said nothing further, continuing to eat his meal. Bianca poked at her own cereal with her spoon, taking the occasional bite, but not eating much overall. She looked like she wanted to say something, and finally, spoke up. “Hilbert, what was that place you went to yesterday called again?” 

  
  


“Oh, you mean the Battle Company?” Hilbert said. 

  
  


“Yeah, that’s it! Can you please take me there after we’re done eating?” 

  
  


“Sure,” Hilbert said. “It’s not too far from here, anyway.” 

  
  


They ate the rest of their meals in silence, Cheren finishing first and walking out of the Pokemon Center into the always-busy Castelia City streets. Five minutes later, Hilbert and Bianca were done, and on the way to their destination. The streets, given how it was just before rush hour, were an absolute madhouse; the sidewalks crammed to the brim with people, cars coming and going on the streets. Thanks to this virtual human gridlock, it took Bianca and Hilbert quite a lot longer to reach the Battle Company than it usually would have. Eventually though, after about forty-five minutes by Hilbert’s watch, they did. 

  
  


Bianca looked up at the large building as she stood in front of it, and swallowed nervously. Seeing his friend was visibly anxious, Hilbert said, “You gonna be okay?” 

  
  


“Y-yeah, I’ll be fine,” Bianca stuttered. “You’re not going to stay, are you?” 

  
  


Hilbert sighed. “Bianca, sometimes you gotta take charge yourself. There’s gonna be times when you’re the only one you can depend on, and this is one of those times.” 

  
  


Bianca looked down and to the side for a second, then her gaze readjusted to stare Hilbert right in the eyes, her expression turning more determined. “Right,” she said. “Where will you be, though?” 

  
  


“Oh, I’m gonna head to the Gym,” Hilbert said. “See if I can catch a little bit of Cheren’s match against Burgh. No way am I missing seeing Cheren get his butt kicked.” 

  
  


“Okay, have fun!” Bianca giggled.

  
  


Nodding, Hilbert turned and began walking away. Looking over his shoulder, however, he saw Bianca still standing in front of the building, appearing hesitant. “Come on, Bianca, you got this!” he called, causing a few people to give him questioning looks. “Just do your best!” Bianca yelled something back, but he didn’t hear it, and he continued on. 

  
  


_Probably should grab a map from somewhere so I know where to find the Gym,_ he thought as he walked. _Actually, why didn’t I do that yesterday?_ He took a sharp turn down a street that led to the city’s center, hoping there would be a kiosk that sold maps somewhere along the way. To his relief, there was, and he bought one in a flash, opening it to take a look at it. His eyes went wide as he saw the huge maze of streets that truly was Castelia. On top of that, the Gym was all the way on the west side of the city. _Man… fuck walking. I’m gonna catch a taxi._

  
  


Luckily, this was Castelia, and taxis were never in short supply, so he hailed one, telling the driver to take him to the Pokemon Gym. Getting to the west side of the city took another forty-five minutes thanks to remarkably poor luck with traffic lights; Hilbert swore the taxi hit every red light on all the crosswalks it stopped at. He nervously looked at the fare counter next to the driver, praying he would get to his destination before the price of the ride got too high. He had heard horror stories when he was younger of the nightmarishly powerful Pokemon taxi drivers in Lumiose City from Kalos carried, and how they weren’t afraid to sic them on those who couldn’t pay their tab. 

  
  


Thankfully, if the taxi drivers in Castelia were anything like their merciless Lumiose counterparts, he never found out, as he was able to pay his fare, but it was a decent chunk of change. _Thank Arceus I took Mickey up on his offer and got that Amulet Coin. It’s gonna come in handy soon,_ he thought. 

  
  


He got out of the cab and walked up to the Gym building. While it wasn’t anywhere near as tall as the other buildings around it, it certainly stood out more. It was a garish blend of green and yellow-green glass, all arranged into slanted trapezoid shapes, held in place by a steel framework that was itself painted a dark green. The entire thing _screamed_ ‘Bug-type Gym’, and an overhang above the entrance displayed the eponymous symbol of the Unova League.

  
  


Just as Hilbert reached the frosted glass double doors, a figure stumbled out of the building. It was Cheren, and he looked none-too-pleased. He was also covered in a sticky golden substance that could only be honey. Hilbert smirked, chuckling. “I didn’t know wearing honey was in vogue right now.” 

  
  


Cheren just gave him a murderous glare. “Shut. Up.” 

  
  


“To be honest, I came down here to watch your match, but I guess I was too late,” Hilbert said. “How’d it go? Ya lose?” 

  
  


“For your information, I _won,”_ Cheren said, giving a thin, cocky smile. “It’s a friggin’... madhouse in there, Hilbert. There’s walls made of honey… _everywhere._ I don’t know why the hell Burgh designed his Gym like that.” 

  
  


“Apparently Burgh likes to torture his challengers, who knows?” Hilbert said. “So what’re you gonna do now?” 

  
  


“Take a shower, obviously,” Cheren said. He then turned his head north. “Then I’m headed to Route 4 to train. If I want to be the best Unova’s ever seen, I’ve gotta keep getting stronger.” 

  
  


The dark, obsessive edge that entered Cheren’s tone in his latter sentence wasn’t lost on Hilbert, and his neutral expression became uneasy. “Suit yourself. I guess I’ll see ya around.” 

  
  


With that, Cheren bid farewell too, and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Hilbert turned back to the Gym, only to see someone else push open the doors and walk outside in a hurry. “Burgh?” Hilbert said, confused. “What’s going on?” 

  
  


“No time,” Burgh said. “Follow me, now. I’ll explain on the way.” 

  
  


He immediately began walking to the parking garage across the street, leaving a bewildered Hilbert hurrying after him. They found the space where Burgh’s car (which, naturally, was a light green with a brass Butterfree-shaped hood ornament) was parked, got in, and sped off. 

  
  


“Okay, what’s going on?” Hilbert asked. 

  
  


“You’re not going to believe this, but Team Plasma’s reared its ugly head again- _already_ ,” Burgh said. He sighed. “I’m sorry, Hilbert, but this is gonna hit close to home for you. One of your friends, Bianca, had one of her Pokemon stolen.” 

  
  


“ _What!?”_ Hilbert yelled. Anger flooded through him like sluice gates being opened. “When did this happen!?” 

  
  


“About half an hour ago,” Burgh said. “I don’t know all the details, I just got a call from the Opelucid City Gym Leader, Iris, who told me she found Bianca wandering the streets and crying. They’re at Unity Pier now, waiting for us. That’s where we’re going now.” 

  
  


“Team Plasma _bastards,”_ Hilbert growled. “I’m gonna rip their heads off for this.” 

  
  


“Trust me, I’m right there with you,” Burgh said, frowning. “This is the last thing that group does in this city. That’s for sure.” 

  
  


The rest of the half-hour trip was spent in silence, Hilbert watching the skyscrapers go by, the sunlight reflecting off their windows. Burgh eventually parked about two blocks away from the pier. “This is as close as I can get us,” he said. “We’ll have to walk from here.” 

  
  


Hilbert undid his seat belt and got out of the car. The Gym Leader and Trainer quickly made their way to Unity Pier, getting the occasional greeting from passerby who recognized Burgh. Once there, Hilbert immediately saw Bianca sitting on a bench next to a young girl with ebony skin that couldn’t have been more than ten. She was wearing a cream shirt with puffy sleeves, white leggings, and had a pink hoodie tied around her waist. The girl looked up, saw Burgh, and after saying something to Bianca that Hilbert couldn’t hear, ran over to them. 

  
  


“What took you so long!?” Iris cried once she reached Burgh. “We’ve been waiting here for nearly an hour! Do you know how far Team Plasma could have gone in the time we were waiting?” 

  
  


“Can you blame me!?” Burgh snapped right back. “It’s not my fault that Castelia’s huge!” 

  
  


Iris just crossed her arms and huffed, but Hilbert was deaf to her argument with Burgh. He just ran over to Bianca, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Bianca? What happened?” 

  
  


She lifted her gaze to meet his, and he was shocked and angered to see her tearful, bloodshot eyes. Obviously, she had been crying for a while. “They… they took him! Th-they took Musha!” She broke down in tears once again, sobbing hysterically. 

  
  


“Wait… who’s Musha?” Hilbert said, confused. 

  
  


“Th-the Munna that I caught in the Dreamyard!” Bianca cried. “Team… Team Plasma came out of nowhere and I couldn’t defend him! And now he’s _gone!”_ She sobbed for a bit longer, but eventually these subsided. “I’m… I’m such a failure of a Trainer…” she continued, wiping her eyes even as tears kept spilling out of them. “First I l-lose at something… _again…_ and now I can’t even defend my Pokemon when it counts…” 

  
  


“Bianca, don’t say that!” Iris said, startling Hilbert. He hadn’t noticed she had walked up behind him. “We’ll get your Munna back, you’ll see!” 

  
  


“I just got done telling the Castelia P.D. to mobilize,” Burgh said. “It’s all hands on deck. Granted, I’m not sure how much help they’ll be, but it’s better than nothing at all.” 

  
  


“I’ll contact Cheren right now,” Hilbert added. “We’ll need his help too.” He got up, and picked Cheren’s number out of his list of contacts. Sadly, when he dialled the number, all he got on Cheren’s half of the screen was static. “Dammit…” he muttered. “Stupid idiot must’ve turned off his Cross-Transceiver…” He turned back to his group. “Okay, we’re not getting any help from Cheren. Any other ideas?” 

  
  


Just then, the sound of wailing sirens could be heard, and several police cars came tearing into view. Burgh slapped his palm against his face as the cars formed a straight line across the pier entrance, actually blocking it. “These guys are _hopeless…_ ” he muttered under his breath, walking up to meet the cops as they got out of the cars. 

  
  


“Mayor Burgh, we got your message,” one of them said. “Who’s the Trainer that had their Pokemon stolen?” 

  
  


“That young lady on the bench over there,” Burgh answered. “And would you get your cars outta that line? You’re blocking the entrance to the pier!” 

  
  


One of the cops nodded, hurrying back to the cars with a muttered, “Sorry,” while the others went over to Bianca with Burgh. 

  
  


“Can you tell us _exactly_ where you encountered Team Plasma, Bianca?” Burgh asked. “Any information would really help here. The more specific, the better.” 

  
  


“N-no,” Bianca stuttered. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, and just ended up in a random alley between buildings…” 

  
  


“Okay… That doesn’t really help us,” Burgh said. “There’s dozens of alleyways all over the city.” 

  
  


“Might be best to take this from the top, then,” Hilbert suggested. “Tell us what happened to lead to this point.” 

  
  


“Okay,” Bianca said. “I’ll do my best.” She took a deep breath, then began speaking. 

  
  


_**One hour earlier…**_

  
  


With a despondent sigh, Bianca walked out of the Battle Company’s front doors. “‘You’ve got this, Bianca’,” she muttered in a bitter, mocking imitation of Hilbert’s voice. “‘Just do your best, Bianca’. Yeah, _right…”_

  
  


Her fights in the Battle Company’s basement arena had been a disaster. She had managed to win her first two matches, but was worn down too much to win her third. At least she hadn’t lost any money and her fainted Pokemon had been healed afterwards, but that did little to ease the humiliated sting she now felt. _Failure, failure, failure…_ the dark part of her mind hissed at her, like a broken record. Much as she tried to ignore it, it was impossible, and tears began to drip out of her eyes. 

  
  


_Why does… nothing ever go_ _ **right**_ _for me..?_ she thought, looking down at her hands, repeatedly clenching and unclenching them as her tears spilled onto them. _Why can’t I be as good as Cheren and Hilbert? Maybe… my parents were right… I shouldn’t be on this journey… Maybe it’s time to face the truth and go home…_

  
  


She shook her head, a sudden, overpowering anger rushing through her at that last thought. She didn’t know what compelled her to do so, but she took off running to the left, her tears blurring her vision and her mind going as fast as she was. She ignored the occasional, “Watch it, kid!” thrown her way by the people she only just avoided running into. It was all she could do to remember to stop when needed at traffic lights. 

  
  


Eventually, she stopped in what seemed to be a plaza, with tall buildings all around it. There was a fountain in the center of the plaza, a trio of dancers in front of it, their speaker blasting out a loud beat, with a crowd gathered to watch. She couldn’t take this. The tall buildings seemed to bend towards her, making her feel even more powerless than ever, the loud music from the dancer’s boombox combined with the cheering of their gathered crowd, the sun was too bright, everything-! 

  
  


Her breathing erratic and heavy, and her heartbeat a pounding drum, she let out a sobbing yell and ran for the nearest alleyway between two of the buildings. Once in the comforting shade, she slid down against one of the walls and buried her face in her hands, sobbing hysterically in the midst of her panic attack. “Why… why me..?” she asked no one, looking up at the opposite wall. 

  
  


“Aw, poor kid’s crying,” said a voice to her right. 

  
  


“Serves her right,” another said. “After all, her Pokemon are probably doing the same damn thing all trapped in their Poke Balls.” 

  
  


Bianca looked up, and with a horrified gasp, saw two Team Plasma grunts not fifteen feet away from her. She scrambled to her feet, pulling her Munna’s Poke Ball off her belt and holding it out in front of her. “St-stay away!” she stuttered, unable to keep her voice from trembling. “J-just get back!” 

  
  


“We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, you brat,” one of the grunts said, placing his hands on his hips for a second before snatching a Poke Ball off his belt along with his partner. “You can either give us your Pokemon, or we can take it from you. Your choice.” 

  
  


“N-no!” Bianca cried, enlarging her Munna’s Ball. “I...I won’t let you take my Pokemon! Musha, go!” 

  
  


“Hard way it is then,” the other Plasma grunt sighed, and he tossed his Sandile out with his compatriot. 

  
  


Bianca’s face paled. She didn’t know what Pokemon she was facing, but was sure just by looking at them that they were Dark-types, and she was at a terrible disadvantage. Her intuition was proven correct, as what followed could hardly be called a fight. The two Sandile ganged up on her Munna, attacking with repeated Bites, and even for how relatively bulky the Dream Eater Pokemon was, it just couldn’t stand up to repeated super-effective attacks. It went down in a matter of a minute, and Bianca fell to her knees, tears flowing silently from her eyes. She couldn’t even bring herself to raise her arm to recall her Munna, despite some voice in her head screaming at her to do so. 

  
  


The grunts, flanked by their Sandile, quickly made their way over to her, one outstretching his arm, the demand obvious. “Your Pokemon. _Now._ Or does this have to get violent?” 

  
  


Bianca looked up at him, the grunt towering over her the same way the buildings had seemed to just minutes before, and she wordlessly reached up and placed her Munna’s Poke Ball in his gloved palm. “Thanks, kid,” the grunt sneered, recalling the unconscious Dream Eater Pokemon with it, and then they ran off, leaving a devastated Bianca to do nothing but helplessly sob. 

  
  


“And… and after that, Iris found me, and she called Burgh,” Bianca said as she finished her story, and then began crying again. “I… I g-guess I was r-right for th-thinking s-something bad would happen before I g-got to this city! Because it _did!”_

  
  


“Ooh, I hate those Team Plasma guys!” Iris snapped. “If I caught them, I’d have my Haxorus disembowel them! And eat them!” She crossed her arms cantankerously. “Maybe not in that order.” 

  
  


“Yeah, well get in line,” Hilbert growled, giving her a cross look. “Still, though… that didn’t tell us much.” 

  
  


“Which means we’ve gotta do this the hard way,” Burgh said. “Scour every inch of the city, leave no stone unturned. Keep in contact with each other on your Cross-Transceivers. If you see anything suspicious, let the rest of us know. Now let’s move. I’ll take the center section of the city. Hilbert, you take the north side. The cops will handle the east. Iris, Bianca, you take the west.” 

  
  


All except Bianca nodded, Iris having to coax her off the bench and lead her to the police cars that served as their rides, while Burgh ran to his own vehicle. With a screech of tires and a wail of sirens, they took off. 

  
  


“Do… Do you really think we’ll be able to find Team Plasma and rescue Musha, Iris?” Bianca whimpered at the girl sitting beside her. 

  
  


“Of course!” Iris replied. “Just have a little faith, Bianca! It’ll all work out, you’ll see! Besides, if anything else happens, I’ll protect you. I’ll be your bodyguard!” 

  
  


For the first time in hours, the hint of an uneasy, timid smile played at Bianca’s lips as she looked over at Iris. “Thank you.” 

  
  


Meanwhile, in the car Hilbert was in, he sighed, leaning forward and tapping the glass separating him from the two cops in the front seats, getting one to slide a small panel of it aside. “So, uh… how exactly am I supposed to go about searching buildings when we get to the north section of the city?” 

  
  


“I dunno kid,” the cop driving the car said, shrugging. “Go into the lobbies, ask around, I guess?” 

  
  


Hilbert cursed under his breath, leaning back in his seat. _Damn Grumpigs,_ he thought furiously. _Seriously, why do we have these guys on any kind of payroll?_

  
  


It took an hour to get from the Unity Pier to the north section of the city, which was the thin strip of buildings at the flat top of the semicircular shape that Castelia was built in. It was noticeably warmer here than at the piers, but that was due to the vast desert Hilbert could see just ahead. 

  
  


“We’ll be on standby to take you where you need to go,” one of the cops said as Hilbert got out of the car. 

  
  


“Yeah, whatever,” the boy muttered back. His stomach rumbled the second he stepped out onto the street. “Dammit… time for lunch, looks like.” 

  
  


He looked up the street, seeing what looked like an ice cream stand- the place where the city’s famous Casteliacone was sold- but then he also saw the massive line down the sidewalk. _Yeah, standing in line like that for half an hour sounds fun…_ _ **not.**_

  
  


Luckily, he was able to find another pizza place within a few minutes. “Have you… uh, seen a group that calls itself Team Plasma anywhere around here?” he asked the cashier. “White hoods, preaching about Pokemon liberation, that sort of thing?” 

  
  


“Oh, yeah, I’ve seen one of their rallies!” the man said. “There was one near the fountain at the city center on the 15th. Nobody knows where the people holding the rallies come from or where they go, though…” 

  
  


_Dammit!_ Hilbert thought, but outwardly, managed to hide his anger. He paid for his pizza slice, and left, eating it on the go. Just down the street was a small art gallery called Studio Castelia. He didn’t know what compelled him to go inside (as obviously Team Plasma was not going to be hiding out in an _art gallery)_ but he did. The pictures on display had the theme of ‘Myths and Legends of the Unova Region’, featuring artist’s interpretations of various things that had happened in Unova’s past, like the fire that ravaged the Moor of Iccirus thousands of years ago, and Unova’s legendary trio, the Forces of Nature. Other regions had their legendary trios as well- the Winged Mirages of Kanto, the Legendary Beasts of Johto, the Continental Titans of Hoenn, and the Lake Guardians of Sinnoh. 

  
  


None of these paintings really interested Hilbert, what with his general disinterest in history, but there was one that did catch his eye, titled ‘Black Lighting’. It showed a cloudy sky, so grey they were almost black, with blue lightning bolts, contrary to the title, flashing down here and there. Silhouetted against this backdrop, was an imposing, bulky black figure, looking like a Pokemon. It was hard if not impossible to make out any details of the Pokemon-like shape, yet Hilbert found himself peering closer at the painting, trying to get a good look at it. Eventually, he blinked, breaking himself out of his trance. “...Better get going,” he muttered to himself. 

  
  


For the next two tedious hours, he did nothing but search around, trying to traces of Team Plasma that didn’t exist. Everyone he talked to, and every building he went into, drew no leads. The cops did nothing to help, merely content to sit in the car and ferry him distances that would otherwise take too long on foot. His patience throughout this grew thinner and thinner, until his Cross-Transceiver rang. Answering it, he saw it was Bianca, with Burgh showing up on one of the other screens. 

  
  


“Hello, guys,” she said. “Have you found anything?” 

  
  


“Well, aside from some pretty pictures in an art gallery, fuck-all,” Hilbert replied. “Dammit, this is so infuriating! How are we supposed to find _anything_ in this damn city!? It’s huge!” 

  
  


“Ditto on my part,” Burgh said. “I’m sorry, Bianca… we’ve turned up nothing.” 

  
  


Just then, they heard a man yell in the background of Bianca’s screen. “What the hell was that?” Hilbert asked. 

  
  


Bianca looked over her shoulder for a second, then turned back towards the screen. “Oh, that was just a Team Plasma grunt,” she giggled. “Iris’s Haxorus threw him clear across the street!” 

  
  


“ _What!?”_ Hilbert and Burgh yelled simultaneously.

  
  


“Bianca… where are you?” Burgh asked, barely able to believe his ears. 

  
  


“About… two blocks north from the Gym,” Bianca answered. “We saw some suspicious guys in front of a building, and they happened to be Team Plasma grunts.” 

  
  


“Hang tight, I’m on my way,” Burgh said. “Hilbert, can you-“ 

  
  


“I’ll be there, I’ll be there!” Hilbert yelled, cutting Burgh off and running towards the police car, terminating the connection. “Get to two blocks north of the Gym, on the double!” he said as he practically dove into the car. 

  
  


By the time Hilbert arrived at the street the building in question was on, it was already swarming with police, and barriers had been set up to keep people away from what was unquestionably Team Plasma’s Castelia hideout. Three Team Plasma grunts (one with visible injuries- no doubt due to being thrown by Iris’s Haxorus) were already in custody near one of the police cars, their hands cuffed behind their backs. Hilbert saw Burgh, and hopped over one of the barriers, making his way over to him. 

  
  


“Ah, Hilbert!” the Gym Leader said. “Good to see you! We’re just about to get underway.” 

  
  


“Good,” Hilbert growled. “Let’s kick these bastards outta Castelia.” 

  
  


“Exactly what I was hoping you’d say,” Burgh replied. “Iris, do your thing.” 

  
  


Iris smirked, then released her Haxorus from its Poke Ball once more. Haxorus was a bipedal Pokemon that was pure Dragon-type with a saurian appearance. It had dark yellowish-green scales covering its entire back and most of its front save for its central body, where a leathery black skin was exposed. Plated, ridged armour went up the back of its neck. Its head had two axe-like tusks on either side of its beaked mouth, each with a blood-red edge. This same red was the colour of its sharp talons and claws. Its tail was long and had a black tip. 

  
  


The Haxorus stomped up to the doors and promptly smashed them in with its tusks. Hilbert, Burgh, Bianca, and Iris then entered the building. To their surprise, it looked like a mostly plain office building lobby, but there was no mistaking the banners displaying the Team Plasma emblem hanging on the back wall, nor was there any mistaking the six figures standing before them: Ghetsis, Gorm, another man that none of them recognized, but they assumed was another Plasma Sage, and three Plasma grunts. Gorm was visibly injured, with bruises and cuts on his face. The boy smirked savagely at this. 

  
  


“Nice look ya got there, Gorm,” he said, tone dripping with venom. “The bruises suit you. In fact, I think I owe you a few more.” 

  
  


“Silence, you foolish child,” Gorm said. “By all rights, you should not be alive right now. It was only due to dumb luck that you survived!” 

  
  


_Wait… survived?_ Bianca thought. _Is that why Hilbert has been brooding so much lately? What happened in Pinwheel?_

  
  


“That’s _enough,_ Gorm,” Ghetsis said, giving the man a withering look that he cowered from. He then turned his attention back to the intruders. “So, what led you to… discover us?” 

  
  


“Don’t play dumb, Ghetsis,” Burgh shot back. “We’re here to take back the Munna you stole from this poor young lady here,” he gestured to Bianca, “and arrest you all!” 

  
  


“Yes, I have heard of what happened in Pinwheel Forest,” Ghetsis said, shaking his head and visibly crossing his arms under his robes, “And you can rest assured, the matter has been dealt with internally. The member responsible for that atrocity has already been… forcefully ejected from the organization, and is no longer with us.” Though Burgh’s group didn’t know it, that last sentence had a double meaning, as the murderous grunt’s bloodied corpse was currently laying in the back room, dead by Ghetsis’s hands. 

  
  


“Not good enough,” Burgh said with narrowed eyes. “Give back the Munna, give yourselves up, and come quietly, or I swear, this _will_ get violent.” 

  
  


Ghetsis, knowing he had to defuse the situation quickly lest a fight _actually_ break out and force him to show his true intentions too soon, merely put his right hand out of his robes in a surrendering gesture. “Now, now, violence isn’t needed here,” he said. “After all, this region has more than enough of it in its history. It’s why the vast span of desert to the north of Castelia exists, after all.” 

  
  


Iris gasped. “Are you talking about… the Scorch War?” 

  
  


“Precisely, child,” Ghetsis replied. “The ancient conflict whose final battle reduced the great Unovan kingdom and its people to dust.” 

  
  


“Never heard of it,” Hilbert said impatiently, crossing his arms. 

  
  


“Oh, come now, boy,” Ghetsis said, smirking. Like in his speech at Accumula Town, the right side of his mouth moved, but the left remained still. “How can you be so unaware of the history of the region you live in?” 

  
  


“History was never interesting to me,” Hilbert said flatly. “Now if you have a point to make, get to it, please.” 

  
  


Ghetsis clenched his fists under his robes. _Oh, this little brat_ will _be a problem, won’t he?_ he thought. Outwardly, though, he didn’t show any signs of anger. “Very well,” he said, sighing. “As… _most_ of you are probably aware, this region was created by two heroes, using the power of Legendary Dragons to unite several warring tribes. They created a grand kingdom in the center of this land, calling it, of course, Unova. However, so the stories go, the brother heroes one day began to argue about how best to lead the people of the kingdom. The younger brother sided with the philosophy of an ideal world, while the elder brother sought a world of truth. 

  
  


“Eventually, these arguments spread to the people. Battle lines were soon drawn- sometimes dividing families- and a civil war broke out. It’s said the very grass drowned in the amounts of blood that was shed. The final battle saw the Legendary Dragons unleash their power in a wave of destruction that leveled the entire kingdom the heroes had built. Eventually, the few survivors of this catastrophe spread to other corners of the land, forming the foundation of the region we all know today. As for the Dragons, they vanished after that clash, and became myth.”

  
  


“And none of that explains why you’ve got a hideout here in Castelia,” Hilbert said. 

"Because, you simple child,” the Sage Hilbert didn’t recognize said pompously, “Having a stronghold in this city- the beating heart of Unova, and the greatest symbol of the disgusting system that encourages Pokemon slavery is... quite poetic irony, don't you think?"

  
  


“It’s not _slavery,_ dammit!” Hilbert suddenly exploded. “I don’t know where you fuckers are getting that stupid idea from, but you’re wrong!” 

  
  


“Enough, Bronius,” Ghetsis said. “If we must abandon this hideout because of this incident, then so be it.” In a lower voice, he added, “Besides, we already _have_ our great stronghold, or did that slip your mind?” 

  
  


“What are you whispering about!?” Iris cried. “Are you gonna give Bianca back her Munna, or not!?” 

  
  


“In due time,” Ghetsis said. “What Team Plasma hopes to achieve is to find one of these Legendary Pokemon, and together with a new hero, we will build a new world- one where people and Pokemon are distinct. A truly… black and white world, if you will. To that end, I have gathered knowledgeable people from all corners of the globe to serve as advisors for Team Plasma’s king.”

  
  


_Does he mean… no, it can’t be!_ Hilbert thought. _N can’t be who he’s talking about!_

  
  


“These Sages- which of course includes myself- are known as the Seven Sages,” Ghetsis continued. He then turned to one of the grunts behind him. “Give the girl back her Pokemon.” 

  
  


With a reluctant growl, the grunt pulled a Poke Ball off his belt and tossed it with a halfhearted underhand flick of the wrist at Bianca. It landed five feet from the girl, who ran forward and picked it up, opening it. “ _Musha!”_ she cried out in relief at seeing her Pokemon again and hugging it. “I promise, I’ll never let anything like that happen again!” 

  
  


“Now, we’ll be taking our leave, if you don’t mind…” Ghetsis said. 

  
  


“That ain’t gonna happen,” Burgh said. “Like I said, you’re all under arrest.” 

  
  


“Are you sure of that?” Ghetsis smirked. “Now!” 

  
  


At this command, the grunts stepped forward, throwing orbs filled with smoke at the ground. Hilbert had just enough time to exclaim, “Oh, shit-!” before the Smoke Balls hit the ground and shattered, filling the room with the same lung-burning, obscuring smoke he had experienced twice before. While everyone was coughing and struggling to see, Ghetsis, Gorm, Bronius, and the three grunts all made their escape, running out of the lobby and onto the street, where they boarded their respective Braviary and flew off. 

  
  


“Dammit, I’m getting _really_ sick of that damn smoke they use,” Hilbert said, more than irritated. 

  
  


“They’re slippery bastards, huh?” Burgh said. “Either way, all that talk about reviving the Legendary Pokemon and the ancient war- it’s obvious they’re up to some serious stuff. Hopefully, though, this is the last we’ll see of them in this city.” 

  
  


“Me, too,” Bianca said, nodding. “Now let’s get out of here. I want to go back to the Pokemon Center. It’s been a long day.” 

  
  


As Burgh and Bianca walked out of the building, Hilbert and Iris stayed behind. Noticing the troubled expression the boy wore, Iris snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hey… you alright? Why the long face?” 

  
  


“You know how Ghetsis mentioned that Team Plasma had a king?” Hilbert said. “I think I know who that is- hell, I’ve _fought_ him twice now. It’s a weird guy named N. I thought he was just a crazy psycho up until now, but him leading Team Plasma would explain a lot.” 

  
  


“That’s...not good,” Iris said, rubbing her chin. “Either way, here.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Great Ball, handing it to him. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Fire-types are great to have in Burgh’s Gym… _and_ you can catch one on Route 4.” 

  
  


“Thanks,” Hilbert said. Together, they left the building. 

  
  


As Hilbert sped off in the police car to go catch a Fire-type Pokemon on Route 4, Iris caught up with Bianca. “Hey,” she said. “I know what happened to you was bad, so… do you want me to train you for a bit? No offence, but your Munna sounded kinda underleveled by how quickly you described it going down to those Plasma grunts’ Sandile, soooo…” 

  
  


“Iris, you don’t have to do anything else for me,” Bianca said. “You’ve already done so much…” 

  
  


“Aw, c’mon!” Iris said. “It’s no big deal. Besides, I’ve got some time on my hands that I don’t know what to do with.” 

  
  


“Well… Alright,” Bianca said. 

  
  


“Sweet!” I’ll give you a full-on Village of Dragons training course!” 

  
  


“Wait… Village of Dragons? What’s that?” 

  
  


Iris smiled with pride. “Oh, the Village of Dragons is where I’m from! It’s the nickname given to Blackthorn City in Johto!” 

  
  


Over an hour later, Hilbert’s feet shifted the sand as he walked through it. “Holy crap… this is no joke,” he muttered to himself. “And I’ve only been here for five minutes!” 

  
  


His goal here was simple: find a red Pokemon. A redd Pokemon meant a Fire-type Pokemon, meaning he could catch it and get the hell out of this sandy shithole. _There’s gotta be something around here somewhere!_ he thought. He kept going for another five minutes, keeping his eyes peeled, until he saw it. 

  
  


It was a small red Pokemon, with a round body, tiny orange paws and feet on the end of stubby limbs, and three yellow ovals on its stomach, and curly yellow eyebrows. It was about ten feet away, but it hadn’t seen him, and was in fact moving away from him. “Oh, no you don’t!” he said breathlessly, rocking back on his heels and running towards the Pokemon, taking his lone Great Ball out of his bag as he went. Taking a chance, he threw it at the Pokemon without bothering to weaken it first. 

  
  


The Great Ball sucked up the Pokemon, Hilbert wincing and staying well back as it shook. Once… twice… thrice… _click._ With that noise, that beautiful noise, the Ball flashed black, indicating the Pokemon was his. “Yes!” he cried, running up to his new catch. He picked up the Poke Ball and took out his Pokédex, learning that what he just caught was indeed a Fire-type called Darumaka. Not bothering to read its entry, he merely flicked over to the tab that told him its current level and moveset. “Level 16, with the moves Incinerate, Rage, Fire Fang, and Headbutt,” he read aloud. “Not bad, but could be better.” Clipping his new team member to his belt, he said, “I think I’ll call you Makue. Now time to get outta here. I wanna be at the Pokemon Center before sundown.” 

  
  


With that, he left the sand behind, ready for whatever experience the next day would bring. Unfortunately for him, it would be far from pleasant.


	17. Chapter 15: Liberty or Safety

**Long Way to Fall**

  
  


**By: Rylek196**

  
  


**Chapter 15: Liberty or Safety**

  
  


The next day, Hilbert woke up at the crack of dawn to check his stitches. Removing the bandage on his arm in front of the mirror, he checked the condition of the now healed wound. “Dammit… I think I waited too long to get these taken out,” he muttered. “There’s gonna be a scar.” 

  
  


Nonetheless, he went down to the hospital wing of the Pokemon Center for breakfast, and afterward, underwent the quick procedure to get the stitches removed. Like he was so dreading, there was indeed a crisscrossing scar left on the side of his arm. Cursing himself for not having the stitches removed sooner, he left the Pokemon Center after breakfast in a foul mood. 

  
  


Finding a bench not too far from the Pokemon Center, he looked over his team via his Pokedex. All, save for maybe Maru, left something to be desired in terms of levels and moves. He sighed. _I’m probably still pretty underleveled for the Gym,_ he thought. _And there aren’t any places close by I can train against wild Pokemon, either. Actually, that reminds me…_

  
  


He reached into his bag and pulled out the Liberty Pass he received two days before. Looking at the small image of the lighthouse printed on the plastic card, he smirked. _There might be wild Pokemon on Liberty Garden. It’s worth a shot, and I might as well use this thing if it’s as hard to get as Cheren said it is._ Mind made up, he took out his map and surmised the best way to get to the small island was to go to the pier named after it. He caught a taxi there simply to save time, and right away, spotted the boat he had to take, a small yacht-like vessel called the _Liberty Star._ Within minutes of showing the Liberty Pass to the captain, he was off. 

  
  


Hilbert placed his hands on the railing on the side of the boat, letting the cool sea breeze blow through his hair as the ship made its way west. Like on the Skyarrow Bridge, he had stashed his hat in his bag to not lose it to the wind. To the south, he could see Unity Island, the site of Unity Tower, Unova’s main governmental building, while to the far north, he could barely make out the orange-red blur that was the Driftveil Drawbridge. He took the Experience Share out of his bag and gave the technologically-advanced looking orb to Drilbur. Then, after another minute of admiring the view, he went back inside to the wheelhouse to talk to the captain. 

  
  


“Gotta say, kid, you’re not the type I imagined would get the Liberty Pass,” the man said as Hilbert entered. “Thought some bastard would bribe the prize off the Gate attendant.” He chuckled at that thought. 

  
  


Hilbert only acknowledged that by rolling his eyes. “So what’s the story with Liberty Garden, anyway?” he asked next. “Why is it so closed-off and exclusive?” 

  
  


“Well, about two hundred years ago, an ancestor of the Riches family that now live in Undella Town bought this island and had a lighthouse built on it, then shut it off from the rest of the world, but no one knows why. Guess after all this time, the regulations got a bit… looser.” He shrugged. “If ya ask me, I think he hid some of his money in the lighthouse, but there’s no way to know. The door on that thing’s been sealed shut for centuries.” 

  
  


“Interesting,” Hilbert said, though he sounded anything but interested. 

  
  


Suddenly, the captain narrowed his eyes, straining to see something out the window on the approaching island. “What the hell?” he said, slowing his vessel’s speed and reaching for a pair of binoculars on the dash. “It looks like there’s… yeah, there’s a couple of speedboats on the secondary dock. That shouldn’t be the case today…” 

  
  


Dread immediately gripped Hilbert like a vice. “Let me see. Now.” There was no room in his tone for arguing. The boat captain handed him the binoculars and he looked through them. He too saw the speedboats, as well as the all-too-familiar emblem on them, and the dread turned to anger in a heartbeat. “ _Plasma,”_ he growled through clenched teeth. 

  
  


“You don’t mean..?” the captain said, trepidation clear in his voice. 

  
  


“Team Plasma?” Hilbert finished for him, lowering the binoculars. “Yeah, it’s them. I’d know that symbol anywhere.” 

  
  


“Then we’re going back! There’s no way I’m tussling with those terrorists!” 

  
  


The captain began turning the wheel, but Hilbert grabbed it, making him stay the course. “No. We’re not turning around. We’re going there, and I’m gonna put a stop to whatever they’re doing, because no matter what it is, it can’t be good.” 

  
  


“But we have to inform the police-“ 

  
  


“ _Police are useless!”_ Hilbert exploded. “And they’re not gonna help us here! Now get me onto that island! You keep your head down while we’re there. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.” 

  
  


With a gulp, the captain steered the boat onto the primary dock on the west side of the island. There was no danger of being seen, as the lighthouse was surrounded by a ring of trees and foliage, meaning anyone on the center of the island couldn’t see the edge. Hilbert quickly hopped over the boat’s railing and onto the dock before the captain could kill the engine, grabbing his baseball cap from his bag and putting it back on his head. 

  
  


“You sure you’re gonna be okay?” the captain called after him. 

  
  


“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Hilbert said without looking back, but mentally he added, _I damn well hope so._

  
  


There was a stone path leading to the lighthouse hemmed in by trees on either side; Hilbert crept along this path, Poke Ball in hand. It wasn’t long before he saw the lighthouse. Having been built centuries ago, it looked very different from the modern skyscrapers of Castelia. It was nearly forty feet tall, made of gray stone, with a roof of faded blue shingles. The windows at the top looked grimy and dirty, like they hadn’t been cleaned in decades. At the front of the lighthouse’s portcullis-like door, were two Team Plasma grunts trying to pick it open, with another three at the eastern dock, guarding the speedboats. 

  
  


_Shit… that’s a lot of them, all things considered,_ Hilbert thought, gritting his teeth. _And it doesn’t seem like there’s any way to be stealthy here. Gonna have to just jump in and hope for the best._

  
  


“Remind me why we can’t just bust down this damn door again?” one of the Plasma grunts said, out of Hilbert’s earshot. His comrade currently had a tension wrench and a lockpick inserted into the lock’s keyhole, and was jiggling the latter tool around, trying to find the tumblers. 

  
  


“Because this is supposed to be a stealth op, dumbass,” the other grunt replied. “In and out, like we were never here. Honestly, though, if push comes to shove, we might have to use force… This lock’s innards are rusty as hell…” 

  
  


Suddenly, they heard the unmistakable _thunk_ sound of a Poke Ball hitting the ground and opening. They both looked at each other for a second. “What the hell..?” 

  
  


Turning towards the source of the noise, they saw a Dewott standing ten feet away from them to their right, with a boy in a blue jacket and baseball cap behind the Pokemon. 

  
  


“Shit!” one of the grunts exclaimed. “I thought there wasn’t anyone coming to this island this _month,_ let alone today!” 

  
  


“Well obviously that was bad intel,” the other grunt said, waving the other three over and running over to the boy. “Just get that lock open, now! We have to get Victini!” 

  
  


_What in hell is Victini?_ Hilbert thought, but didn’t have time to wonder that for very long, as within moments, he and Maru were faced with two Patrat and two Sandile sent out by the Plasma grunts. Worse, two of them had more than one Poke Ball on their belt. 

  
  


“Mind tellin’ us what you’re doing here, kid?” one of the grunts asked him in a not-too-friendly voice. 

  
  


“Stopping you lot, obviously,” Hilbert said, fury blazing in his eyes. “Because I’ve had _enough_ of you grunts!” He sent out Sensei, Logan, and Makue to help even the odds. 

  
  


Just as the two sides were about to charge, the grunt picking the lock yelled, “I’ve got it! It’s open!” He then threw open the door and ran inside the lighthouse.

  
  


“One of you, go! Give him some backup!” one of the grunts yelled. “We’ll hold this bastard and his worthless Pokemon off! We’ve gotta secure Victini!” Another grunt nodded, recalling his Patrat and following his compatriot into the lighthouse. To make things fair in terms of numbers again, the grunt with two Pokemon sent out his Patrat. 

  
  


_I have to stop them before they get to whatever Victini is!_ Hilbert thought. “Everyone, charge! Take them down!” 

  
  


That was all the prompting both sides needed, as they ran at each other, assorted natural weapons brandished. Sensei, outpacing the rest of Hilbert’s Pokemon, reached the grunts’ side first, aiming a Double Kick at one of the Sandile, only for it to dodge by jumping to the side. It then smacked him back with its tail using Assurance, then pointed its snout up and the air and slowly rocked its head back and forth, whipping up a Sand Tomb attack. 

  
  


Before it could launch the trapping move, though, it was blasted by a Water Gun shot by Maru, who himself was then tackled by a Patrat and chomped on with Crunch, the more powerful version of Bite. Maru screamed in pain, smacking the Scout Pokemon with his seashells, but to no avail. 

  
  


“Maru!” Hilbert cried. “Logan, break off! Help Maru!” 

  
  


Though Logan heard, he could do nothing about it, being blocked by the snapping jaws of the other Sandile. The way it was doing so almost made it seem like it was laughing at him. Logan growled, knowing he had to help his comrade. He backed up and charged, ramming into the Sandile with Take Down. As it turned out, this was more than enough to knock out the defensively-frail Desert Croc Pokemon in one hit. Hilbert’s Pokedex let out its characteristic _ding!_ twice in a row, letting him know that Logan, and probably Drilbur, had leveled up. 

  
  


Logan then turned around, and ran for the Patrat, crashing into it, knocking it off his teammate. Maru scrambled to his feet and finished the job by shooting the enemy Scout Pokemon with Water Gun, making him level up to level 19. 

  
  


Meanwhile, Makue was fighting the other Patrat, dodging continuous Crunches from her opponent, with the last Sandile sneaking up behind her. Hilbert noticed this, and yelled, “Sensei, get that Sandile, now!” 

  
  


Sensei did as he was told, running at the Sandile, and lashing his right leg out with the first of two kicks. This was more than enough to knock out the Sandile, making Sensei level up to level 18. With that dealt with, Makue took the opportunity to cloak her teeth in flames and chomp down upon the Patrat with Fire Fang. The Patrat shrieked in agony as its fur coat was set ablaze for a few moments. Makue then followed up this attack with a Headbutt, knocking out the Patrat. This made her level up to level 17. 

  
  


The Plasma grunts all returned their Pokemon, giving each other nervous looks for a second before turning and running towards their speedboats. “Sensei, stop them!” Hilbert yelled. 

  
  


The Sawk ran and leapt through the air, clear over the grunt’s heads, landing in front of them. With nowhere to go, they had no choice but to give up. Hands above their heads, they walked up to Hilbert. “Logan, Maru, Makue, watch these assholes,” Hilbert said. “They do anything, _kill them._ Sensei, you’re with me, come on.” 

  
  


He and Sensei then ran into the lighthouse. Inside was a series of steep ramps leading down to an iron door. Off to the right was another door that lead to a spiral staircase. These presumably went up to the lighthouse’s top room, but Hilbert ignored this. The walls were cracked and grimy, with a series of rusty pipes on the ceiling, the whole room was lit by a handful of dim, lamp-style light fixtures, and the whole place smelled of must. 

  
  


Both Plasma grunts had their Pokemon out and were using them to attack the door, trying to beat it down, to no avail. “Ah, it’s no use!” one of the grunts yelled. “You’re gonna have to pick this thing open!” Turning his head and seeing Hilbert and his Sawk running down the ramps toward them, he yelled, “Get it open fast! I’ll buy you some time!” 

  
  


Meeting Hilbert halfway up the ramps, he sneered at the boy. “You’re becoming a real problem, kid. Unfortunately for you, I’m a problem _solver._ Scraggy, get out there!” 

  
  


The Poke that jumped in front of him to battle resembled a small, bipedal lizard that was primarily yellow in coloration. Its eyes were set at the side of its round, large head, with its upper teeth exposed below the two dots it had for nostrils. It had a red, scaly torso, with thin yellow arms. Around its waist and covering the lower half of its body was a bunch of loose, yellow skin, which almost seemed like baggy cargo jeans of some sort. Some of this skin trailed behind it, forming a tail. 

  
  


Hilbert had Sensei move out in front of him. Even though the environment was extremely cramped, he was confident that his Fighting-type could handle the opposing Pokemon. 

  
  


“Sensei, Double Kick!” Hilbert yelled. The Karate Pokemon ran at the Scraggy, only for it to literally disappear before his eyes. He skidded to a stop, then let out a grunt in pain as the Shedding Pokemon reappeared behind him and body-checked him. “What the hell!?” Hilbert cried as his Pokemon stumbled forward a few steps. 

  
  


“Gotta love Faint Attack, am I right?” the grunt smirked evilly, but it was quickly wiped off his face when Sensei twirled around, one his legs extended. His heel caught the Scraggy on the side of its head, sending it into the wall. Without giving it a chance to recover, Sensei immediately went up and delivered another kick, knocking out Scraggy with the super-effective hit. 

  
  


The grunt growled in anger, recalling his Scraggy, and sending out his second Pokemon, a Patrat. Hilbert rolled his eyes. _I’m getting so sick of seeing those things._

  
  


The battle was over before it started. All it took was a Leer from Sensei to freeze the Patrat in place, followed by one Double Kick to finish it off. Meanwhile, the other grunt worked feverishly to pick the lock on the door to Victini’s room. Sweat ran down his forehead as he moved the pick around in the lock. “Come on, come on…” he muttered. _Click… click…_ and suddenly, _snap!_ His tension wrench moved freely downward, allowing him to open the door. He did so, then looked behind him and swore. Hilbert was practically right on top of him. With no time to lose, he took his lone Poke Ball off his belt and threw it, revealing a Watchog. 

  
  


“You’re not stopping us, you brat!” he yelled. “We’re getting Victini! Watchog, Crunch!” 

  
  


The Watchog lunged for Sensei, jaws open, but Sensei was ready. He turned in a circle, extending one of his legs and hitting the Watchog in the face. The Watchog was sent crashing into the wall, but it was not down for the count. It charged back into the fray, just to be met with Sensei’s _other_ foot hitting it in the face. That, combined with a Leer and Low Sweep, was enough to knock out the Lookout Pokemon. Hilbert’s Pokedex dinged twice to let him know that Sensei, and likely Drilbur, had leveled up again. 

  
  


“Dammit…” the Plasma grunt hissed. 

  
  


“Get him outta the way, Sensei,” Hilbert said with narrowed eyes. “Time to see what this ‘Victini’ they were so desperate to get their hands on is.” 

  
  


Sensei grabbed the Plasma grunt by the collar, the man letting out a yelp as he was tossed against the left wall, his head striking the cracked concrete hard. He groaned, getting up and running out of the lighthouse. 

  
  


Hilbert scoffed, returning Sensei to his Ball and walking into the room. What he found was nothing like he expected. While the walls were still cracked and decaying, with more piping lining the ceiling, the room was actually furnished, with a threadbare orange carpet covering some of the floor, an old bed in the corner, and even some old toy chests against the wall, all covered in a half-inch of dust. Even the rotten, dry remains of a potted plant was beside the bed. 

  
  


In the middle of the room, though, floating an inch above the ground, was a small Pokemon. It resembled a rabbit, with large pointy ears that formed the letter ‘V’. These ears were orange, while the rest of its body, save for its three-fingered hands and two-toed feet, was cream. It had large blue eyes without pupils, and two winged tails, the source of its ability to float. 

  
  


“Victini is a Pokemon?” Hilbert said to himself. “Guess that figures. Can’t catch it anyway, ‘cause I don’t have any Poke Balls. I guess Juniper would know more about this than I do, so I better give her a call.” 

  
  


He turned on his Cross-Transceiver, and found Juniper’s number, then dialled it. It didn’t take long for the Unova Professor’s face to appear on the screen. “Oh, Hilbert! This is unexpected!” she said. “What is it?” 

  
  


“Juniper, I’m on Liberty Garden right now,” Hilbert said. “I need some information on a Pokemon called Victini, if you have any.” 

  
  


Juniper’s eyes widened. “D-did you say Victini?” she said. “Why would you need information on that?” 

  
  


“Because I think I’m standing right in front of it,” Hilbert said, turning his wrist so his Cross-Transceiver’s camera pointed towards the Pokemon. He was surprised when he heard Juniper let out a shriek of excitement, immediately turning the device back to him. “What is it? What’s the big deal?” 

  
  


“Hilbert, turn your Cross-Transceiver back to that thing _right now!”_ Juniper screamed. “Give me a closer look!” 

  
  


Hilbert did as he was told, turning his wrist back to Victini. “It can’t be… But it _is!”_ he heard Juniper say ecstatically. “A Victini! I can’t believe it!” 

  
  


“Juniper, less shouting, more explaining, please,” Hilbert said, turning the Cross-Transceiver back to him. 

  
  


“Hilbert, do you know what you’ve found!?” Juniper cried. “Victini is a Mythical Pokemon! The first Fire/Psychic-type! No one’s seen it for two hundred years! You _have_ to catch it!” 

  
  


Juniper was expecting a shocked or joyful reply from Hilbert, but what she got was the exact opposite. The boy merely shrugged. “I already _have_ a Fire-type Pokemon, Juniper. And I don’t have any Poke Balls on me right now, either.”

  
  


“W… _what?”_ Juniper stuttered. “Then go back to the Pokemon Center in Castelia and get some! Do you have any idea how useful this will be for my research!?” 

  
  


“Juniper, I got the ticket to get here by total chance!” Hilbert said. “I don’t even know if they’ll let me onto this island again if I go back to Castelia! And even if they _do,_ do you know how fucking long it’ll take to get to the Pokemon Center and come back here!? Probably _hours!”_

  
  


“Hilbert,” Juniper said, clearly getting desperate, “ _Please._ I saw how bad that room looks. The poor thing’s probably been alone in there for centuries. Besides, think of having that in your Pokedex-“ 

  
  


“ _I don’t care about the damn Pokedex, Juniper!”_ Hilbert yelled furiously. “I’m not catching it, and that’s _final_.” With that, he turned off his Cross-Transceiver, ending the call. He walked out of the room, not noticing the sad look in Victini’s eyes as he went. 

  
  


Back in Nuvema, it took Juniper a full minute to process what had just happened. When it finally sunk in, she screamed in utter fury. “I can’t _believe_ he would do that! Why in the hell would he not catch it!? Does he have any idea how valuable that Victini would have been to my research!? Oh, when we next meet, I’ll make him _pay…”_


	18. Chapter 16: Premiere Insect Artist, Burgh

**Long Way to Fall**

  
  


**By: Rylek196**

  
  


**Chapter 16: Premiere Insect Artist, Burgh**

  
  


As Hilbert walked out of the lighthouse’s basement and into the mid-morning sunlight, he saw the Plasma grunts all still lined up with his Pokemon watching them closely. After informing the boat captain that it was now safe to get the police involved to take the grunts away, it was just a waiting game. During this time, Hilbert checked out the levels of his Pokemon and if they had learned any new moves.

  
  


Much to his frustration, only Drilbur and Darumaka learned anything, and Drilbur’s new attack was the sole useful one between the two: Dig, an 80 base power Ground-type move. While he wasn’t sure how often Drilbur would be able to use it for infrastructural reasons, he allowed him to learn the new move, replacing Rapid Spin with it. Darumaka, meanwhile, was trying to learn Uproar, a 90 base power Normal-type move. This seemed great at first, until he took a closer look and found it was a special attack, and therefore would do nothing but chip damage thanks to the Zen Charm Pokemon’s pitiful special attack stat. On that basis alone, he rejected it. 

  
  


Soon, a police boat docked beside the _Liberty Star,_ and a handful of cops stepped out, ready to arrest the grunts. 

  
  


“What’s the situation?” one cop asked Hilbert. 

  
  


“The usual stuff,” the boy answered gruffly. “They were trying to steal a Pokemon called Victini, but I stopped them. The rest is up to you guys.” Their jobs done, Hilbert returned his Pokemon to their Poke Balls. 

  
  


The cop nodded. “Alrighty then.” 

  
  


Cuffs were soon snapped over the grunts’ wrists in short order, and the cops, under Hilbert’s watchful eyes, shepherded them towards the police boat. Everything seemed to be going well, but it unraveled in a heartbeat. One of the grunts, determined not to get arrested here, pulled against his handcuffs, and to his shock, they simply came loose. One cop noticed, but before he had a chance to act, the grunt whirled around, striking him in the face and knocking him to the grass. 

  
  


“Just pull against your handcuffs!” the grunt shouted, already starting to run for the speedboats. “They’re not even fuckin’ locked! Let’s get outta here!” 

  
  


Emboldened by their compatriot’s actions, the other three shoved against the cops leading them on, then ran for their boats, shedding their handcuffs as they ran. 

  
  


“No-!” Hilbert shouted, pulling Maru’s Poke Ball off his belt and tossing it. However, it was too late. By the time the Discipline Pokemon had materialized, the grunts had already scrambled into their boats, and gunned the engines, speeding away from the island, headed west towards Driftveil. In all the commotion, no one noticed a certain cream-and-orange Pokemon float out of the lighthouse, using its winged tails to fly off. 

  
  


Livid, Hilbert turned on the cops, marching right up to them. “What the hell was _that!?”_ he yelled. “You forgot to lock their fucking handcuffs!? _How!?”_ The cops were silent, only looking down at their shoes sheepishly. Their silence just made Hilbert angrier, and his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles turned a ghastly white and he could feel the bones digging into the skin stretched overtop. “ _Say something!”_ he screamed. 

  
  


“Look, what do you want us to do, kid!?” one of the cops cried. “It’s not we can turn back time! What’s done is done!” 

  
  


“Forgetting something _that basic_ isn’t a mistake you should have made in the first place!” Hilbert yelled. He returned Maru to his Poke Ball and angrily stormed back towards the _Liberty Star._

  
  


“Arceus-damned Grumpigs…” he growled under his breath. “This was a complete waste of time!” He hopped on the boat, nodding to the captain. “Take me back to Castelia,” he said. “I’m done here.” 

  
  


The boat captain nodded hurriedly, eager to leave Liberty Garden behind. Taking off his cap and stowing it in his bag so as to not lose it due to the rushing wind, he ran his hand through his hair and sighed, his anger refusing to fade. _What the hell was I thinking, expecting the cops to actually help?_ he thought bitterly. _I shoulda killed those grunts on the spot. Would have at least been an eye for eye for Burgh’s Ranger friends that died in Pinwheel. Wait…_

  
  


“Shit!” he hissed out loud. He turned his head towards Castelia’s artificial coastline, getting closer by the second. He sighed again. “How the hell am I gonna tell Burgh about this..?” he muttered. “Should probably just come clean when I get to him. No point in hiding what happened.” 

  
  


When the boat got back to Liberty Pier, he hopped off without so much as an acknowledgement to the captain, and caught a taxi to the Pokemon Center to both heal his Pokemon and get needed items for his upcoming battle with Burgh. He bought three Super Potions and one Antidote, just in case, then caught another taxi to take him back to the west side of the city, where the Gym resided. 

  
  


Before he went in, he took the Mystic Water off of Maru and gave him the Amulet Coin instead. _Time for this thing to prove its worth… even if I am trading power for profit. This could backfire on me._

  
  


Forty-five minutes later, he pushed through the last honey wall that led to Burgh’s arena, a large room with a beautifully lacquered oak floor. Thanks to the honey walls set up in the Gym one had to walk through, the boy was covered in the sticky yellow substance. Thanks to defeating the Trainers employed by the Gym, the levels of his Pokemon, as well as his cash reserves, had gone up significantly. 

  
  


Maru was now level 22, and at level 20, tried to learn Fury Cutter, a 20 base power Bug-type move. Hilbert had almost passed on it, but after reading its description, decided to use it to replace Cut. Fury Cutter merely _started_ at 20 base power, but that power doubled with each successive hit, meaning it could very quickly snowball into a devastating attack. Logan was now level 21, but had learned no new moves. Drilbur, mostly thanks to the Experience Share, was now also level 21, and likewise had learned no new moves. Due to his type being not very effective against Bug-types, Sensei had only leveled up once, to 20, learning nothing. Darumaka, proving herself to be the star of the show in this Gym, was up to level 21, and had learned the 70 base power move called Facade at level 19. This move also doubled in power whenever she had a status condition, and Hilbert overwrote the uselessly weak Incinerate for it. 

  
  


Burgh turned around from the picture he was painting as soon as he heard Hilbert’s haggard breathing. The boy noticed the picture was that of a pair of Pokemon Rangers standing atop a rocky precipice. “Oh, hello, Hilbert,” he said calmly. “Did you enjoy the Gym? I assume you’re here to challenge me, no?” 

  
  


“Yeah… I am,” Hilbert said, still breathing heavily. “Seriously, what the hell is up with this Gym’s design!? I have honey in places where honey should never be!” 

  
  


“Mainly because I find it amusing, though this design _is_ kinda getting long in the tooth,” Burgh admitted. “I’ve been thinking of changing it up, but I never get around to it… Anyway, let me just put this easel away and then we can get started.” 

  
  


Hilbert noted there was a slight strain to Burgh’s voice when he said that, like it was about to crack. _Might as well tell him._ “Burgh, I hate to say this, but… there were more Plasma grunts today. On Liberty Garden.” 

  
  


Burgh’s head immediately perked up, his body language taut and tense. “What?” he said. “Liberty Garden? But that means…”

  
  


“I stopped them, don’t worry,” Hilbert said. “But they got away because of the cop’s stupidity.” He clenched his fists tightly at the memory. Just thinking about it made his blood boil. “They just… they just seem to be everywhere now, and no matter how hard I try, I just keep running into their schemes. I hate them.” 

  
  


“Hilbert, trust me, I do too,” Burgh answered. “Those Rangers were my friends, and I’ll never forgive Team Plasma for what they did in Pinwheel Forest. I _wish_ I had a solution to this, but they’ve infected Unova like a disease. I’ve got a bad feeling we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg, too. For now, all we can focus on is the here and now. Let’s battle like the fallen would want us to! Win or lose, I dedicate this battle to the friends I can’t see anymore!” 

  
  


“Right,” Hilbert nodded, smirking. He grabbed Maru’s Poke Ball off his belt. “Let’s do this.” 

  
  


“Go, Whirlipede!” Burgh called, throwing out his first Pokemon. 

  
  


Whirlipede was a rather unusual Bug-type in appearance. It resembled a tire off an all-terrain vehicle more than anything else, with red circles on each segment of the gray-purple shell that covered its body. On its front were two feelers with black stripes on them, and opposite that, on its back, was another set of feelers. Its amber eyes could be seen in the center of it shell, narrowed and threatening. 

  
  


“Maru, get out there!” Hilbert yelled, his starter materializing onto the field out of his thrown Poke Ball. The health bar screens lit up and the battle began. 

  
  


“Maru, Water Gun!” Hilbert yelled. His Dewott obeyed, spraying the now-familiar high-pressure stream of water from his mouth at his opponent. 

  
  


“Whirlipede, Screech!” Burgh yelled. Just before the Water Gun made contact, Whirlipede vibrated its front two feelers at high speed, an earsplittingly loud soundwave emanating from them. Even Hilbert was forced to cover his ears and cried out in pain. Maru was frozen in place at the same time the Water Gun connected, knocking a chunk off of its health bar. 

  
  


The Whirlipede, unfazed by the Water Gun, then took advantage of Maru’s helpless state, spinning up its body like a revving wheel, then raced towards him and slammed into him with Pursuit. Maru yelled as his body became airborne before slamming back down in front of Hilbert, a slice of his health bar missing. 

  
  


Maru pushed himself to his feet, but Burgh was not about to let up. “Struggle Bug!” he called. Whirlipede’s front two feelers glowed green, and three green orbs formed between them, then blasted towards Maru. They each with the force of a sledgehammer blow, bringing him down to his knees, doubled over in pain as his health bar shot down to the halfway point, right on the cusp of yellow. 

  
  


_Alright then. Different tactic,_ Hilbert thought. “Maru, Focus Energy!” 

  
  


Yet again, Maru got to his feet, and tightened his body, yellow pillars of energy swirling around him, then they blasted into the air, disappearing as they hit the ceiling. 

  
  


In response to this, Whirlipede growled, its rear feelers turning purple and dripping with poison. Maru took the seashells off his thighs, then both Pokemon leapt at each other, but Maru was faster, slashing with Razor Shell and landing a critical hit. The attack made Whirlipede’s health bar shoot down to the low yellow. 

  
  


Maru landed gracefully, immediately turning around and firing off another Water Gun. The attack landed, but it wasn’t enough to bring down the Curlipede Pokemon. Its health bar was down to a sliver of red. 

  
  


“Dammit!” Hilbert exclaimed angrily. “Maru, Water Gun, again!” 

  
  


Maru shot another stream of water out of his mouth, but Whirlipede did something unexpected to dodge the attack: it simply fell over onto its side, allowing the water stream to fly harmlessly over it. Its rear feelers glowing purple, it then hopped back up, and rolled right into its opponent, hitting him with the poisonous appendages. Maru was sent stumbling back, his health bar shooting down to the low yellow. Worse, he then began to feel extremely nauseous, and knew he was poisoned. 

  
  


“That’s it, Whirlipede!” Burgh said. “Fighting to the end, as usual!” 

  
  


_Shit,_ Hilbert thought as Maru’s health began to drop in small, uniform ticks. _There’s no way Maru’s gonna last through this whole fight, but I think he’s done all he needs to._

  
  


Maru used one more Water Gun to knock out Whirlipede, the Pokemon not even attempting to dodge, knowing its time in the fight was over. Burgh quickly returned his fainted Pokemon and tossed his next one out. “Go, Dwebble!” 

  
  


Dwebble was a small Pokemon that resembled a hermit crab, albeit one that used a rock as a shell. It was burnt orange in color, and its eyes were oval-shaped and supported by eye stalks. Its pincers were also rather large, looking quite threatening. 

  
  


As Maru’s health continued to drop, Dwebble landed the final blow by launching another Struggle Bug, knocking him out. Hilbert then returned his starter, and considered his options. Dwebble was obviously a Bug/Rock-type, and Drilbur did know a Steel-type move, which would crack through Burgh’s Pokemon in short order. 

  
  


_But Scrapper is still weak! Do I want to risk this?_ Hilbert thought, his eyes darting from Scrapper’s Poke Ball to Sensei’s and back again. 

  
  


“Giving up, Hilbert?” Burgh called, crossing his arms. “You never struck me as the indecisive type.” 

  
  


Hilbert sighed. _Well, I’m all about taking gambles today, right?_ Without another moment of hesitation, he threw out Scrapper. 

  
  


“Use Metal Claw!” Hilbert yelled. 

  
  


Moving as fast as his stubby legs would let him, his claws taking on a shiny, steel-like sheen, Scrapper ran towards the Dwebble, only for it to fire off another Struggle Bug from one of its pincers. Scrapper jumped over the green orbs, coming down and landing the attack, slashing Dwebble in the face. The attack dropped Dwebble’s health bar to the low green, but it was far from finished. 

  
  


Scrapper drew back his other claw to deliver another blow, but Dwebble, to his shock, literally vanished before his eyes, and his claw slashed empty air. The next second, he was struck in the back by the Rock Inn Pokemon, sending him sprawling. 

  
  


“Good job, Dwebble! Nice Faint Attack!” Burgh said encouragingly. “Now keep it up! Struggle Bug!” 

  
  


Before Scrapper could roll to his feet, Dwebble fired off the volley of green energy orbs, striking him in the back and doing a solid chunk of damage. 

  
  


Scrapper painfully got up after the assault. He let out a cry of anger and charged towards Dwebble, trying to use Metal Claw again, but Dwebble once more vanished. However, Scrapper smirked, turning on a dime, and hit his opponent right as it rematerialized behind him. The attack, and the momentum behind it, sent Dwebble flying, its health bar now in the low yellow. 

  
  


“Yes!” Hilbert yelled. “Nice move, Scrapper! Now finish this! One more Metal Claw!” 

  
  


Scrapper ran towards Dwebble as it rolled back over, losing its shell in the process, revealing a small hooked tail. Though it was obviously weakened, it was not ready to throw in the towel, and Burgh knew it. “Smack Down, now!” he commanded. 

  
  


Dwebble outstretched one of its pincers and quickly formed a white energy ball at the tip. The energy then coalesced and hardened into a rock, which it aimed and fired at the approaching Drilbur. 

  
  


Scrapper tried to dodge the projectile, but it was going simply too fast. He was struck by the rock, stopping him in his tracks and knocking him off his feet, but in the end, Smack Down was a Rock-type move, something the Ground-type Drilbur resisted, so it did little damage. Its fate thus sealed, Dwebble was knocked out by a final Metal Claw from Scrapper. 

  
  


“Darn, looks like I only have one Pokemon left,” Burgh said, returning his fainted Dwebble. Oddly, the white recall beam split in two, picking up both the Rock Inn Pokemon _and_ its shell. “But I refuse to be squashed here! Go, Leavanny!” 

  
  


Burgh then tossed out his Leavanny. Whether it was the same one that Hilbert had seen in Pinwheel Forest or a different one, he didn’t know, nor did he care. All he knew was that Scrapper didn’t stand a chance against it. 

  
  


He was proven right as Burgh yelled, “Razor Leaf!” 

  
  


Leavanny ejected a bunch of glowing green leaves from its head. Then, in mid-air, they stiffened, becoming like dozens of tiny throwing daggers. With a gesture of Leavanny’s arms, the leaves sped towards Scrapper. Scrapper cried out in pain as he was hit with the knife-sharp leaves, his health bar being driven down to nothing in a second. 

  
  


Grimacing, Hilbert recalled his Pokemon, throwing out Makue. _Just one Fire-type attack from Makue will decimate that Leavanny,_ he thought. _But Burgh knows that, and I got a feeling he’s gonna fight damn hard here._

  
  


Without needing a command, Makue cloaked her fangs in fire, and ran at the Nurturing Pokemon. Leavanny used Razor Leaf again, sending a barrage of dagger-like leaves at its opponent. Though Makue was able to keep running through the attack, it did do decent damage because of the Darumaka’s pitiful defense stat. Darumaka then jumped, intending to finish it with one attack. 

  
  


“Leavanny, Protect!” Burgh cried. 

  
  


As the Darumaka bore down on it, Leavanny threw up a green dome of energy around itself. A millisecond later, Makue slammed into it teeth-first, bouncing off and hitting the floor hard. Though clearly dazed, the Zen Charm Pokemon’s health bar remained full, much to Hilbert’s relief. A countdown timer of ten seconds then appeared beside Leavanny’s portrait on the health bar screen. 

  
  


_What could that be?_ Hilbert thought. _Something to do with Protect? A cooldown timer, maybe?_

  
  


Meanwhile, Leavanny kept up the pressure, using Struggle Bug to knock Makue back some distance and taking another chunk off her health bar. Just as Makue got to her feet, Leavanny spat globs of silk from its mouth, webbing its opponent to the floor with String Shot. 

  
  


“Makue, Fire Fang!” Hilbert yelled. “Burn that stuff off you to get free!” 

  
  


Makue did as she was told, burning the silk off one foot, but wasn’t fast enough to free herself completely before Leavanny unleashed another Struggle Bug. The attack landed, leaving Makue’s health on the cusp of going into the yellow. The countdown timer had long finished and disappeared by this point. 

  
  


Leavanny launched another Struggle Bug, but Makue managed to free her other foot and dodge out of the way before it hit. She then ran at the Leavanny, fangs aflame. However, she evidently hadn’t learned from last time, as the Nurturing Pokemon threw up another Protect, and Makue ran right into it, being bounced away yet again. Another countdown timer appeared next to Leavanny’s portrait, this time for twenty seconds. 

  
  


Hilbert’s eyes widened. _It_ does _have to do with Protect! The more Leavanny uses it, the longer the timer gets!_

  
  


As soon as the energy dome came down, Makue was already running at Leavanny again, an enraged look on her face. Leavanny tried a variation on the String Shot tactic it had used, this time spitting a long strand of silk from its mouth rather than globs. 

  
  


“Dodge that!” Hilbert yelled. Sweat dripped down his temples as he glanced at the Protect cooldown timer. Fifteen seconds… 

  
  


Makue spun out of the way as the silk strand made contact with the floor. It then grabbed it, and pulled, sending the Leavanny crashing to the floor. This was all the opening she needed. With fangs still aflame, she ran up to her opponent, and chomped down on its head hard. Leavanny wailed in pain as it was hit with its dreaded quad-weakness, its full health bar shooting down to nothing in an instant. The battle was over, and Hilbert had won. 

  
  


“Yes!” Hilbert yelled. He ran up to his victorious Pokemon. “Nicely done, Makue! You were incredible out there!” His Pokedex chirped, but Hilbert ignored it. He would deal with it later. For now, there was a Badge to be collected. 

  
  


Fortunately, Burgh was all too happy to comply. The two of them returned their Pokemon as the Gym Leader walked up to him, taking the Gym Badge out of his pocket. 

  
  


“Hilbert, well done,” he said, placing the Badge into the boy’s paIm. “I gotta say, that was a great battle. That Insect Badge is yours now.” 

  
  


Hilbert inspected the Badge before putting it away in his case. It was shaped like an insect wing, with three vibrant green inlaid sections separated by the brass that made up the rest of it. 

  
  


“Thank you, Burgh,” Hilbert said, nodding firmly. 

  
  


“And as is customary, I also need to give you this,” Burgh added, taking out the jewel case for a TM. “That’s TM76, Struggle Bug. 50 base power with no additional effect, I’m afraid, but use it wisely and I’m sure you’ll find it… insectible.” 

  
  


Hilbert rolled his eyes at the pun, but was then surprised as Burgh placed his hand on his shoulder. “Hilbert, be careful out there,” the Gym Leader continued. “I know you’ve already been through a lot, so the best thing you can do to keep yourself from going through more is to not let your guard down. Be cautious, be safe, and keep your Pokemon close by.” 

  
  


“I’ll try my best,” Hilbert said. He sighed. “I’m just not sure why I’m suddenly the world’s punching bag, is all.” 

  
  


“Wish I knew,” Burgh replied, shrugging. “The world’s an unbalanced place pretty much by design, and I think we both got a bitter taste of that in Pinwheel.” 

  
  


“Yeah.” 

  
  


They then tapped Trainer Cards, and Hilbert turned to leave, Burgh going back to his easel to continue painting. On the way there, however, he looked down at his card, seeing how much money he had given Hilbert, and his eyes widened. “Hey… how in the hell did you get so much prize money outta me!?” 

  
  


Hilbert froze. “Uh… uh… Gotta go!” He then rocked back on his heels, and raced for the honey wall as Burgh ran after him, trying to keep up. 

  
  


“Hilbert, get back here you little swindler! I swear when I catch you-!” 


	19. Chapter 17: A Battle With Bianca

Long Way to Fall 

  
  


By: Rylek196 

Chapter 17: A Battle With Bianca

There was something hypnotic about watching your clothes spin around and around in a washing machine, Hilbert thought. Not that it really lessened his boredom. He had just barely escaped from a furious Burgh, catching the first taxi he could back to the Pokemon Center. Of course, his honey-covered clothes left sticky patches on the car's backseat, something for which he could only sheepishly apologize to the driver for. However, the nurse at the Center barely raised an eyebrow at his state, healing his Pokemon. He then ran upstairs to the laundry rooms to wash his clothes.

So here he was, standing on the heated floor of the room, naked, with nothing to do but fiddle with his Cross-Transceiver and watch his clothes spin in the washing machine. It was monumentally boring, and something he knew he was going to grow to hate soon. He was in the process of toying with the two extra screens on Cross-Transceiver, pushing them in and popping them out over and over again, when the device began to ring.

"Ah!" he yelped with a jolt, almost dropping the Cross-Transceiver. His heart rate suddenly going a mile a minute from the shock, he took a look at the number on the screen, finding, to his surprise, that it was Bianca's. _Why the hell is she of all people calling me? And why now?_ he thought. The device kept ringing, oblivious to his mental questions. He looked down at his unclothed form. _Do I really wanna answer this like I am now?_ His finger hovered over the 'Accept Call' button, before he sighed and pressed it, then quickly held the device away from himself.

"Hey there, Hilbert!" he heard Bianca say. When she didn't immediately see him, though, her voice turned confused. "Uh, Hilbert..? Where are you? Why am I looking at a ceiling?"

"Not important," Hilbert said tersely. "How ya doin'?"

"Actually, ever since we got Musha back from Team Plasma, I've been great!" Bianca replied. If Hilbert had been able to see her face, he would have seen her smiling cheerfully. "Remember Iris? Well, she offered to train me a little, so I took her up on that, so now my Pokemon are much stronger, and I wanted to see how much I've improved! If you're up for it, I'd like to battle you again!"

Hilbert went silent, merely thinking, _What? Why? Why me? Is it because she sees me as strong? I guess that's kinda flattering, but what does she think she'll achieve if she beats me?_

His quiet was not going unnoticed by Bianca. "Uh, Hilbert? You still there?"

"Oh, uh, yeah!" Hilbert said. "I guess I'm up for it. Where do you want to battle?"

"Well, there's a skyway between two buildings near the entrance to Route 4 that could work," Bianca said. "I'm on my way there now."

"Then, uh… be ready to wait a while," Hilbert said nervously.

"...Why?" Bianca said suspiciously. "Hilbert, where are you? Let me see you."

_Crap._ Seeing no way out, Hilbert turned the Cross-Transceiver towards his face.

"Um, Hilbert?" Bianca asked. "Why are you hatless? And… shirtless?"

"Why do you think!?" Hilbert said frantically, his patience snapping. "I'm washing my clothes in one of the Pokemon Center's dry-cleaning rooms! Kinda naked right now!"

Bianca nearly shrieked in mortification and embarrassment, her cheeks going scarlet. "Oh, sorry! Sorrysorrysorry! I'll let you go! Just don't forget about the battle, okay?" With that, she ended the call, terminating the connection.

Hilbert let out a curse, shutting off the Cross-Transceiver. The washing machine was just about done, so he put his clothes in the high-energy dryer next. Ten minutes and a shower later, he was clothed and ready. What items he couldn't put in the washing machine, like his hat and bag, he gave a quick wipe down with a damp cloth, finding doing so sufficient but not perfect, as his hat was left with a few faded yellow stains on it.

Going downstairs, he refilled his water bottle, and bought some supplies from the store. Given how Route 4 was a massive, unforgiving desert, he purchased two LMT's, as well as five Super Potions. Now ready for the road ahead, he caught another taxi to the north end of Castelia. While on the way there, he decided to deal with the fact that Makue had gained a new level, and what move (if any) she learned. As it turned out, she was trying to learn the powerful Fire Punch, a whopping 75 base power move that, with STAB, was boosted up to 80. To avoid redundant coverage, and because Fire Punch was more powerful anyway, he had his Darumaka forget Fire Fang.

It took over an hour to get to the north end of Castelia City, but fortunately, the skyway was plain to see, being an enclosed bridge above the road that connected two buildings, one looking like a hotel, and the other an office building.

He paid for his ride, got out of the taxi, and walked into the hotel's lobby, making his way up to the bridge. Bianca was loitering around near the middle of the skyway, and ran over to him when she saw him, her shoes tapping on the white tiles. Oddly, there was an electronic bulletin board on the right side of the bridge, this one a bit slimmer than the ones in Gates, pointing down at an angle. **Walk like an ancient Unovan!** the blocky orange text scrolling across the black screen read. **Desert Resort and Relic Castle tours available now!** Hilbert just raised a brow in bemusement at this.

"Hilbert! Hey!" Bianca said as she got closer. "Are you ready? My Pokemon sure are!" Pulling a Poke Ball off her belt, she started to back up, but then stopped, pointing up at the bulletin board. "Though, thinking about it, we might want to be careful not to damage that… Let's go easy in here, okay?"

Hilbert just nodded. "Sounds fair."

Bianca then resumed backing up to the customary fifteen feet, then threw out the Poke Ball in her hand. "Go, Pepper!" The Ball flew through the air, opening and releasing her first-caught Pokemon, showing to Hilbert that it was now a Herdier.

Hilbert's hand instinctively went for Sensei's Poke Ball, as the Fighting-type could easily lay low the Normal-type, but then thought better of it. The space they were battling in had glass walls, so who knew how much damage Sensei could do here. Grabbing Logan's Poke Ball instead, he thought, _Okay, then why not fight a Herdier with a Herdier?_ "Get out there, Logan!" he yelled, tossing out the Poke Ball.

Both Loyal Dog Pokemon stared each other down, growling. "Pepper, Bite!" Bianca commanded, making the first move. Baring her fangs, Pepper took off, running straight for Logan.

"Logan, Leer, then Work Up!" Hilbert yelled. Logan's eyes glowed red, freezing Pepper in her tracks, then the jackhammer vibration took hold of his body, but even as the reddish-orange aura surrounded him, Pepper shook off the effects of Leer, ran forward, and chomped down. Logan howled in pain as Pepper shook her head back and forth like a Sharpedo, finally letting him go with one more great toss, sending him stumbling back.

Logan growled yet again, and without warning, pounced, jaws open, on Pepper. The other Herdier could do nothing as her higher-leveled counterpart clamped his jaws down on her face, the move's power, and thus the pain, boosted by Work Up.

"Pepper! Oh, no!" Bianca yelled. Her heart rate started to increase, her breathing picking up as panic set in. However, she then caught herself. _No, remember what Iris taught you. Stay calm, and believe in both your Pokemon and yourself._ A hard, determined look came over her, and she clenched her fists tightly, shouting, "Pepper, get it off you! Do whatever it takes!"

A furious look entered Pepper's eyes, and _she_ began to fight back against Logan, pulling her head in the opposite direction which he was, loosening his jaw's grasp. The gruesome tug-of-war kept up for a few seconds, then with a sharp _riiip_ sound as a small clump of Pepper's facial hair tore off, she was free, Logan being sent stumbling back a few paces.

"Wha-!?" Hilbert exclaimed.

"Now Take Down!" Bianca yelled.

With a bark, Pepper charged forward, gathering all the momentum and speed she could in the small amount of space between her and Logan, and crashed into him, sending him flying backwards. Though Pepper took a small amount of damage herself from the recoil of the move, it was more than worth it to Bianca.

"Yeah! Woohoo! Way to go Pepper!" Bianca cheered, tossing her arms up in the air.

Hilbert, on the other hand, was nowhere near as enthused. _Damn, she got me good,_ he thought as Logan pushed himself slowly to his feet. _She actually has gotten better._ Anger began to boil inside him. _Fine, she wants to play that way? No mercy then._ "Logan, Work Up, now!"

Logan growled, initiating the vibration again, after which the red-orange glow surrounded him. Bianca visibly paled and gulped, her previous confidence blown away like dust on the wind. Hilbert's Herdier was now extremely dangerous, could easily sweep her team if it got in one more boost, and she knew it.

"P-Pepper!" she stammered. "Do your best to dodge _anything_ he throws at you! Got it?"

Pepper gave a small yip of acknowledgement, but unfortunately, Hilbert went right for the jugular. Without even needing his Trainer to tell him what to do, his eyes glowed red, freezing Pepper where she stood, then shot forward like a cannonball, bashing into his opponent and knocking her out in that single hit. The recoil damage he took was significant, however, and a large amount of his health had been sacrificed to achieve the victory.

Bianca went very still for a solid ten seconds after she returned her Pokemon. Her thoughts raced. _No! No, no, nononoNO! It wasn't supposed to be like this! It wasn't supposed to go this way! Could… could Iris's training have been for nothing?_

She looked back at Hilbert. A cruel, vicious look was on his face, his eyes narrowed and his teeth bared like some kind of feral animal. "What's the matter?" he barked gruffly. "Give up? Send out your next Pokemon now, or forfeit the match!"

Something in his tone triggered a memory of something Iris said to her the previous day. " _Hmm… from what you've told me about the battle you had with your friend Hilbert on Route 2, the reason you froze up is 'cause, and I know this is gonna sound nuts, you still saw him as a friend. Battles are serious business with money on the line, Bianca, and you need to view every opponent you fight, even ones you know personally, as not just enemies, but monsters that'll rip you to bits given half a chance."_

That sudden flashback lit a fire in her belly, and she replied with gusto, "No! I won't give up! Get out there, Sidehopper!" She grabbed the Poke Ball of her next team member and threw it out, revealing a Pansage.

Hilbert's lips curved up into a weird sort of half-smile at the sight of the Grass-type, remembering his battle with Cilan. _Just like old times, I guess,_ he thought. "Logan, you know what to do! You've already beaten one of these things when you were a Lillipup! Take this thing out quick!"

Logan barked his acknowledgment, and charged forward, fangs bared. The Pansage quickly grew a vine out of its hand and lashed out with it once Logan was in range, striking him hard in the face. Logan yelped, being knocked to the side. Growling, he got up and lunged for his opponent, but the Pansage, living up to its nickname, nimbly hopped to the side, leaving Logan's teeth to snap shut on empty air.

Given an opening, Pansage formed a glowing green ball of energy between its hands and shot it at Logan. The orb struck him, sinking into his body, but it appeared to do no damage… for a moment. Then, to Hilbert's disgust, small, leafy vines literally sprouted out of Logan's back, sending small green energy orbs flying to Pansage, who absorbed them.

"What the hell-!?" he cried out in shock.

"Nice Leech Seed!" Bianca cheered. "Now we can wear him down!"

_Dammit! That Leech Seed move must be sapping Logan's HP!_ Hilbert thought. _I gotta finish Pansage off_ now _before he faints!_ "Leer, now!"

Logan's eyes glowed red, but the move was interrupted as more green orbs flew from him to Pansage, making him wince and lose focus. Pansage, blessed with another opening, took it, slashing with one last Vine Whip to knock out Logan.

"Yes!" Bianca exclaimed. "We did it! We got him! Nice work, Sidehopper!"

To her consternation, though, Hilbert didn't even seem fazed. Instead, he began to laugh. "You haven't "gotten" anything, Bianca," he said. He grinned wolfishly. "In fact, you've just made the biggest mistake of this fight. Get out there, Makue!"

He threw out his Darumaka, and Bianca's face again paled, knowing the Pokemon was a Fire-type just by looking at it. "Uh, oh…" she said, swallowing a lump of nervous saliva that had suddenly formed in her throat.

"Makue, let's test out your new move! Fire Punch!" Hilbert yelled.

Makue clenched fist became cloaked in flames, and she ran forward, eager to deliver the super-effective haymaker. Sidehopper shot another Leech Seed orb, but Makue's fiery fist just went straight through it, and she continued on, hitting the Grass-type right in the face, knocking it out immediately.

"Oh no!" Bianca said. "Sidehopper, come back!" She recalled her Pansage to its Poke Ball in a flash. _I've gotta take that thing down,_ now! she thought. _Wait… that's it! I've got just the thing!_ Without wasting another second, she threw out her Munna, the Dream Eater Pokemon letting out its signature ethereal cry as it appeared. "Musha, Yawn!" Bianca commanded.

A kaleidoscope-like cone of energy that looked like clouds appeared around Musha, then vanished. A second later, the energy reappeared around Makue's face before once again vanishing. However, it seemed to do nothing, as Makue just looked mildly curious.

Hilbert outright laughed. "I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish, Bianca, but it's not gonna work! Makue, Fire Punch again!"

Makue ran forward, jumping to hit Munna with an uppercut Fire Punch, but Munna, with its bulky defenses, managed to hold on. Then, a sudden, inexplicable weariness took hold of Makue as she landed. The Darumaka couldn't explain it, but her eyelids drooped, and she fell asleep, dreamland consuming her.

Hearing his Pokemon begin to snore, Hilbert yelled uneasily, "Makue, you okay? What's going on?"

_I love it when things go my way for once,_ Bianca thought as Musha fired a beam made of pink rings at its opponent. The Psybeam hit hard, knocking the Darumaka back. It was then that Hilbert got a clear look at what happened to his Pokemon as it rolled end over end and came to rest listlessly with its face to him. Makue's eyes were closed, and she had a peaceful, content expression on her face, oblivious to the attack she just took full-on.

"Dammit! Makue, get up, now! Wake up!" Hilbert yelled. Much to his aggravation, his Pokemon did no such thing, continuing to snooze.

"Moonlight!" Bianca yelled. The glowing image of a full moon briefly appeared in front of Munna before fading, and the Dream Eater Pokemon seemed to float with more vitality afterwards.

_It recovered its health!?_ Hilbert thought in shock. _Oh,_ _ **shit!**_

Munna then unleashed one more Psybeam, knocking out the frail Darumaka, and forcing Hilbert to recall it. "Gotta bring out the big guns apparently," he muttered, snapping Darumaka's Poke Ball back onto his belt and grabbing his starter's. "Go, Maru!"

His starter materialized and quickly took a fighting stance. Without needing a command, it spat a Water Gun at the Munna, who responded with another Psybeam. However, the pink rings traveled relatively slowly, and Maru was able to spin out of the way, while his attack hit dead-on, soaking the Dream Eater Pokemon. This gave him the opportunity he needed to run up and jump, slashing with his seashells, their edges glowing green.

Munna let out an echoing cry of pain as the Fury Cutter connected, floating lower to the ground. Maru was not finished, just giving a savage smile that made him look not unlike his Trainer, and slashed again and again, each blow stronger than the last due to the snowball effect of Fury Cutter. In less than twenty seconds, Munna was reduced to an unconscious, quivering heap on the tile floor. Hilbert's Pokedex dinged twice, but he paid it no mind for the moment.

Bianca's heart was beating like a drum as she recalled her Munna. She holstered its Poke Ball and took out her starter's as well. _Last one… and I'm at a disadvantage,_ she thought. _But I've come this far, and I won't give up!_ Cocking her arm back, she yelled, "Get out there, Taroko! Let's show 'em your power as a Pignite!"

The Pokemon that materialized from the Poke Ball Bianca tossed out was obviously Tepig's evolved form. It was bipedal, unlike the quadrupedal Tepig, with orange arms and legs, and a chubby, ovoid body. Brown fur that almost looked like a wrestler's leotard covered most of its torso, with the parts not covered being orange. Yellowish-gold swirl designs protruded from both sides of its chest, and it had a red nose, relatively small black ears, and a black, curly tail with a ball of fluff at the end.

"So, your starter evolved," Hilbert said.

"Yep, just yesterday thanks to my training with Iris," Bianca replied.

"Isn't that special?" Hilbert mused, shaking his head. He then looked Bianca dead in the eye. "Too bad it's not gonna help! Maru, let 'em have it!"

Maru ran forward, readying his seashells to strike. As he approached, Pignite stood still, widening its stance and holding its arms out in front of it, _very_ much like a wrestler. Hilbert was beginning to suspect that Pignite was part Fighting-type, and this guess was proven correct when, at the last second, it sidestepped out of the way of Maru, grabbing his arm and then delivering a punishing series of four open-palmed strikes to his chest. On the last one, he let go, sending Maru flying. He got to his feet, groaning in pain.

"Nice Arm Thrust, Taroko!" Bianca yelled excitedly. "Keep going! We've got him on the ropes! Flame Charge!"

Pignite grunted, surrounding itself with flames and running forward. Maru quickly spat a stream of water at the rapidly-approaching Fire Pig Pokemon in desperation. While it was sufficient to put out a bit of the fire around Pignite and do some damage, the Pokemon ignored the pain, continuing to race towards Maru and body-check him, sending him flying backwards. A bright orange aura then surrounded Pignite, and it ran back to its Trainer, appearing faster.

_Its speed went up!_ Hilbert realized, grinding his teeth. "Maru!" he called to his Pokemon. The Dewott looked back at him. "You're gonna have to follow what I tell you to do to the letter if we're gonna win this! Got it?"

Maru nodded, turning back to his opponent. "First, Focus Energy!" Hilbert commanded. Maru closed his eyes, the yellow energy pillars circling around him, before they shot upwards and dissipated against the skyway's ceiling. His critical hit chance thus raised, he followed his Trainer's next command. "Now wet the floor with Water Gun! Soak it!"

While Hilbert's Dewott fired Water Gun after Water Gun at the tile in front of it, making the floor sufficiently soaked with liquid, Bianca could only watch and wonder what Hilbert was up to. _Is he… cleaning the floor or something? I don't think that'll help, but if he wants to leave himself open like that… I guess I'll attack!_ "Taroko, Flame Charge!" she cried, thrusting her arm out.

Pignite once more gathered flames in front of it, and charged. Maru didn't move, though, staying perfectly still. He had put two and two together and figured out his Trainer's plan, and if he so much as stepped to the side before it was time, the plan would fail. So he waited, paying attention to Pignite's feet, until he was two steps away from the big puddle he had created… and then sprang to the side, leaving his opponent to slide on the slick, water-soaked tile.

Hilbert quickly hopped to the side to avoid an injury-causing collision with the out-of-control Pignite. Unable to stop itself, the Fire Pig Pokemon went all to the door at the end of the hall, and rammed into it headfirst.

"Yes!" he shouted. "It worked! Maru, Water Gun! Finish it!"

Maru didn't need to be told twice, firing a Water Gun at the stunned Pignite. The attack connected, knocking out Pignite instantly.

While Hilbert let out a shout in triumph, Bianca just stood there, breathing heavily. _I… lost again. Even after all of Iris's training, I still lost. So, why… don't I feel… sad?_ She gripped her hat tightly, pulling the brim down over her face, but then did something that surprised even her: She began to laugh. It was actual, joyous laughter, and for the first time in a while, she felt… _good._ She felt happy. She felt on top of the world. Against all odds, and despite her loss, she felt all of these things.

Carefully avoiding the soaked tile, Hilbert returned his Dewott, and walked up to Bianca, a quizzical look on his face. "What's so funny?"

"Oh… it's… it's that I think I finally get… what it means to be a Trainer," Bianca said, her peals of laughter dying down to chuckles. "To feel good like this, to be confident in defeat, and be satisfied with yourself, no matter what happened in a battle… I feel it now. It feels good. So… so _good."_

Hilbert raised a brow as Bianca recalled her Pignite. "I know I'll probably never be as good as you or Cheren or Iris… but I'm not going to quit!" she continued. "I'm gonna keep going and do my best, because that's all I can do, really…" She took her Trainer Card out of her purse. "So thanks, Hilbert. That was a great battle."

"You're… welcome, I guess," Hilbert said, tapping Cards with her to facilitate the transfer of prize money. Bianca was so jubilant she didn't notice just how much money had been taken off her card thanks to the Amulet Coin. "So… what are you gonna do now? I'm gonna start making my way to Nimbasa, you?"

"Well, obviously, I need to go heal my Pokemon," Bianca said. "And tomorrow… yeah, I think I'll take on Burgh. Taroko should make short of him, seeing as he uses Bug-types. He's gonna get incinerated!"

Surprised at his friend's sudden, newfound confidence, Hilbert smiled. "Then I guess I'll see ya around."

"Thanks Hilbert! You too!" Bianca called, running to the other end of the skyway and pushing open the door.

Hilbert remained there a few minutes longer, using three of his Super Potions to heal his Pokemon, and checking on his Pokedex, remembering it had chirped twice. Maru was now level 23, but had learned nothing. Drilbur, on the other hand, was now level 22, and was trying to learn Hone Claws, a move that boosted both attack and accuracy each by one stage. While the accuracy buff wasn't too appealing, the attack boost the move granted was tempting.

_I have been kinda babying Scrapper, if I'm being honest,_ Hilbert thought. _And this move might allow him to fight on his own more before he becomes an Excadrill. Y'know what? Why not._

Sliding Hone Claws' icon over Fury Swipes, he had Drilbur forget the Normal-type attack in favour of the stat-buffing move. He then turned and walked to the door closest to him, looking back at the mess he made with Maru's Water Gun. _Eh, janitorial staff'll clean it up anyway._ Opening the door, he left the skyway, and went outside back onto the street, headed north to Route 4.

The harsh, blowing sand of the Route battered him as he marched ceaselessly north. Aside from the gray of the windswept road he now walked on the side of, the only color he could see for miles was tan. He was hot, he was sweaty, and he wanted nothing more than to get out of this wasteland. Having already eaten one of his meal packs, at least he wasn't hungry. Hilbert turned around, gazing at the skyscrapers of Castelia, now so far behind him, appearing as though they were a forest of giant, glittering trees. Worse, the sun was now setting, and he had no way of knowing how far he was from any sort of shelter, let alone Nimbasa.

_Gotta… gotta find someplace to turn in for the night,_ he thought tiredly. _I can't sleep under the stars out here, the Pokemon on this Route would rip me to shreds…_

He turned his gaze northwards, having been staring down at his feet, and saw something that caused him to do a double-take. There, about two kilometres away, were the outlines of buildings flanking either side of the road and a tower crane. Even in the twilight and at this distance, he could make out bare I-beams and the general unfinished nature of the towers.

_Must be... an abandoned construction site. Who the hell... would want to build anything out here?_

The question was irrelevant, and he knew it. The fact was, he now had shelter for the night, and he wasn't going to look a gift Rapidash in the mouth. It wouldn't be great, but a roof over his head was better than nothing. He rocked back on his heels, and made a beeline for the unfinished buildings, his tired muscles screaming at him for once. Not being used to the sensation due to both his shoes and general lack of physical activity before this quest, the pain was agonizing.

He did his best to ignore it for as long as he could, but stopped after one kilometre, walking the rest of the way. By the time he reached the buildings, the sun had set, bathing everything in inky darkness, with no light save for the stars. He pulled out his flashlight, the eerie, unnatural glow illuminating his way, casting long shadows over everything. The bright orange, plastic safety fencing keeping trespassers out of the half-finished buildings was long blown away by the wind at this point, and Hilbert quickly ducked into what _would_ have been the main entrance of an apartment or office building had it ever been completed.

There were stairs right next to the dusty, empty husk of an elevator shaft, and Hilbert took them up to the third floor- high enough to be out of reach of wild Pokemon, but not dangerously so. He took his bag off his shoulder, sliding down against a concrete support beam onto the floor with an exhausted groan.

Arranging his bag like a pillow, he turned off his flashlight, muttered, "All right… bedtime." and was out like a light the second he lay down.

It was the sound of wood hitting the concrete floor that woke him up about two hours later. His eyes flew open, and he grabbed his flashlight, clicking it on and sweeping it around his darkened surroundings. "W-who's there?" he said, sitting up and turning around. "Who the hell made that noise?"

"Ah, hell, I guess there's no point in hiding anymore boys, kid knows we're here," said a gruff voice. "Not like that's gonna do 'im any fuckin' good, am I right?"

Hilbert swallowed thickly as four men emerged from the shadows, each holding either 2x4's or metal bars, likely bits of pipe looted from the construction site. They all wore black leather vests, with one particularly large and heavy-set man going shirtless, with nothing on his upper body except the black vest. He wore a construction helmet on his head, and was the only one of the four to have Poke Balls- two of them- on the belt of his jeans.

The large man chuckled. "I gotta admit kiddo, you got lucky. If _someone,"_ \- he glowered at one of his apparent flunkies with a 2x4, "Hadn't been a klutz and dropped his weapon, we woulda had the element of surprise on our side, but now we gotta do this the old-fashioned way. So, ya now have two choices: Either you can give us everything you have in that bag, _plus_ all your money, or we can leave you a beaten, dead husk in this tower to rot. Your choice."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Hilbert said, suddenly defiant, though a little voice in his head was screaming at him to shut up. "You gonna rob me blind? Is that it?"

"Well, fucking _duh,"_ one of the men said. "Route 4's crawlin' with people like us, and everyone's gotta eat to live, after all."

"That's _enough,_ Silvester," the large man said. "And I think he's made his choice. Let's use my Pokemon to soften him up, shall we? Get out there, Timburr!" He threw out one of his Poke Balls, and the Muscular Pokemon, the first Hilbert had seen since his battle with N in Nacrene, materialized.

_Okay, maybe I can deal with this,_ Hilbert thought, though his heart was pounding. He grabbed his starter's Poke Ball. "Go, Maru!"

What followed could hardly be called a battle, and only be called pathetic where the large man was concerned. His two Pokemon, the other being a Sandile, were knocked out in short order, and by the time the large man recalled the Desert Croc Pokemon, his face was flushed with rage.

Hilbert, on the other hand, was smug. "So, gonna give up?" he smirked.

The large man, however, just grinned like a hungry Mightyena. "Not a chance, kid. Yer already dead."

Hilbert heard a sharp rush of air behind him, and immediately ducked, squatting down. A microsecond later, a 2x4 whooshed by where his head had just been, missing him. The guy who had swung it cursed, and Hilbert, still in his squatting position, quickly spun around on the balls of his feet. The man was raising the piece of wood over his head for a powerful strike.

_Oh no you don't._ Hilbert quickly kicked his right leg out at the guy's shin, his foot connecting. The gang member cried out in pain and lost his balance, dropping his makeshift weapon, with it landing on the ground with a clatter.

Hilbert scrambled to his feet, only to realize that another guy on his left was closing in, and this one held a metal pipe. Not just that, but there was one on his right, too, with the leader closing in from in from the front. Behind him, the one he kicked was recovering, and was picking up his weapon. He was effectively boxed in, with nowhere to go.

He gulped. _Not good._

The leader smiled his terrible, bloodthirsty smile again, raising his own pipe. "Game over, brat," he said, bringing it down. Hilbert closed his eyes and braced for the skull-crushing impact… but it didn't happen. Instead, he heard the man scream in pain, and the sound of metal hitting concrete. He opened his eyes, and nearly vomited.

Maru stood in front of him, one of his seashells now dripping with blood. The gang leader was holding the stump of where his left hand used to be, blood gushing out of it, and on the ground _was_ said hand, still clutching the pipe.

The gang leader continued to yell in pain, the rest of his goons standing dumbfounded. "H-holy shit!" one of them cried. "That thing cut off Rob's hand! You okay, boss?"

" _Of course I'm not fucking okay, you idiot!"_ Rob screamed. "Help me with this before I _bleed to death!"_

As the other gang members raced over to aid their wounded leader, he glared murderously at Hilbert. "This… this isn't over, kid," he hissed. "If I ever see you again… I'll hang you with you with your own damn intestines!"

Their leader still groaning in pain, the gang retreated into the shadows, leaving the building. Hilbert stood there for a full two minutes, breathing heavily, his face pale and palms clammy. Suddenly, his knees gave out, and he crumpled to the ground, on his hands and knees. "Why… does… this shit _keep happening_ to me?" he muttered. "Why? Why, why, _why, why, WHY!?"_ He slammed the concrete with a closed fist on each 'why', oblivious to the pain.

Maru came up to him, making a concerned noise. With a shaking hand, Hilbert reached up and touched his starter's face, feeling the soft fur and rigid whiskers. "Thanks, buddy," he whispered. "You really saved my ass there." Maru just gave him a grim nod in reply, his teeth chattering as he wiped the bloodstained seashell that took the gang leader's hand.

"That can be cleaned off, don't you worry," Hilbert said, pushing himself to his feet, an action that seemed to take far too much effort. "But right now we gotta find another floor on this place. This one's kinda… occupied."

Returning Maru to his Poke Ball, Hilbert went up the stairs, knowing full well that trying to get to sleep was futile now.


	20. Chapter 18: A Battle with Cheren

**Long Way to Fall**

  
  


**By: Rylek196**

  
  


**Chapter 18: A Battle with Cheren**

  
  


Like Hilbert knew they would be, any more attempts to get to sleep that night were in vain. His thoughts were simply swirling too fast, his imagination alive with dreadful scenarios of what could have happened. Had Maru been a second too late, had he himself sent out any of his other Pokemon, and a thousand other variables that could have led to his death. 

  
  


His hand was sore from slamming it on the concrete of the floor below him, and it was a constant agitation as he just sat there, thinking and occasionally checking his watch. At last, at about nine in the morning, he got up, applied some much-needed deodorant to his underarms, and made his way down the stairs of the half-completed building, lethargic and sleep-deprived. He tried his best to avoid looking at the severed hand of the bandit leader, but his eyes couldn’t help but dart to it for half a second against his will. It was still there, the blood having dried to an ugly shade of brown. He grimaced and looked away quickly. 

  
  


Exiting the building the same way he entered, he continued on the sandy path. The constitution site kept going for a bit, but he soon left it and its abandoned crane behind, and had nothing but the wind and blowing sand as companions. Too tired to run, he could do nothing but trudge on for several more hours. The sun beat down on his back, and eventually, it became too much to take. He slipped off his jacket and tied it around his waist. Much as he wanted to take off his cap, he couldn’t, as the brim did too good a job at providing shade for his eyes from the sun. At one point, he passed a green road sign that, surprisingly, seemed to be well-maintained. RELIC CASTLE 4 KILOMETRES WEST, it read in big, reflective white letters. 

  
  


He sat down after another half-hour, Nimbasa finally in sight, to eat his second LMT, the milkshake in particular feeling extra refreshing to his parched throat. As he tilted his head back to drink it, he thought he saw something, out of the corner of his eye. He downed the shake, then put the garbage away in his bag, making his way over to the glimmer in the sand. 

  
  


His shoes kicked against something metal. “What the hell..?” he muttered. It turned out what he saw was another large roadside sign, now laying flat and half-buried in the sand. Curious, he knelt down, and began to wipe the sand off the sign, feeling a bit like those armchair archaeologists who called themselves Ruin Maniacs from Hoenn, until he had uncovered a fair bit of detail. It seemed to be an advertisement for a planned shopping center that obviously hadn’t seen the light of day, with a smiling family walking towards what looked like an enlarged Gate, with a faded rainbow shining down from some clouds in the sky. 

  
  


“‘Join Avenue’, huh?” he read. “‘Join with the joy’.” He scoffed. “Gimme a break. Like _that’s_ ever gonna get built in this fuckin’ wasteland.” 

  
  


With _that_ utter waste of time done and over with, he went back back to the main road, walking for another ten minutes, and the entrance to the Gate was within sight, when someone opened the doors, blocking them. Someone in a white shirt with a blue jacket. “Oh, _no,”_ Hilbert moaned. 

  
  


“Hilbert, stop!” Cheren yelled. “You have your Insect Badge and have trained up, just like me, right? Then I want another battle!” 

  
  


Hilbert just gave an exhausted sigh that turned into a yawn. “Not… not now, Cheren,” he said. “Right now I wanna get to Nimbasa so I can take a nap. Didn’t get a wink of sleep last night… You don’t wanna know why…” 

  
  


He began to walk towards the door, but Cheren just grabbed a Poke Ball off his belt and threw it. It opened in front of him, revealing Cheren’s Pidove. It puffed out its chest, doing its best to block his path. 

  
  


“Cheren. Let me through,” Hilbert said firmly, rubbing his temples, feeling his anger already beginning to rise. “I am _really_ not in the mood for this.” 

  
  


“Like hell I’ll let you go through,” Cheren said, his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “Not before we settle who the better Trainer is. And if you’re tired, that’s all the better for me. It’ll throw you off your game.” 

  
  


“Alright, _FINE!”_ Hilbert exploded, grabbing a Poke Ball off his belt, tiredness forgotten- for the moment. “You’ll have your fucking _battle!_ Just don’t be surprised when you lose! Go, Scrapper!” He sent out his own Pokemon, and it brandished its claws, ready for battle.

  
  


“Why would you send out a Ground-type against a Flying-type?” Cheren laughed. “Don’t you know Ground-type moves don’t work on Flying-types? You needed to do better homework, Hilbert. Interceptor, Leer, then Quick Attack!” 

  
  


The eyes of the Pidove glowed red, freezing Scrapper in his tracks, then with a series of almost imperceptibly fast zigzagging movements, it rammed into him, sending him flying back several feet. 

  
  


Just as Scrapper got to his feet, Pidove flapped its wings hard, creating many knife-sharp, crescent-shaped air blades which it then launched at him. The Air Cutter attack hit hard, and Hilbert swore he saw one of the air blades make a brief glint of light when it struck. 

  
  


“A critical hit!?” he cried. “How? Your Pidove didn’t use any moves that boosted the chances of that happening..!” 

  
  


“It’s Interceptor’s ability, Hilbert,” Cheren said. “Super Luck. It boosts the chances of critical hits passively at all times. It’s actually what won me the match against Burgh. Like I said, you needed to do more research. Now let’s finish off that stupid little mole, Interceptor! Air Cutter again!” 

  
  


Scrapper raised his claws to try and protect from the attack, but there was no defending himself when the very air around him was turned into a weapon. He was struck full force, knocking him out. 

  
  


“Ah, crap!” Hilbert said, his tired mind taking a second to register that he needed to return Scrapper to his Poke Ball. Cursing, he quickly did so. _Damn…_ he thought. _I’ve got nothing that can take on that Pidove at range other than Maru… but if he beats it, Cheren will just send out his Snivy, and Maru’s toast! Then again, he doesn’t know about Makue…_

  
  


Meanwhile, the grin Cheren wore on his face was growing wider with every second. _I know_ exactly _what you’re thinking, Hilbert. Go ahead and do it. You’ll just fall right into my trap._

  
  


_Dammit, I’ve got no choice!_ Hilbert thought. Without another moment’s hesitation, he grabbed his starter’s Poke Ball, enlarged it, and threw it. “Go, Maru!” 

  
  


The Discipline Pokemon appeared, brandishing its seashells, the edge on one of them having turned brown from the dried blood. _What? What is that?_ Cheren thought, adjusting his glasses. _Is that… blood, or am I seeing things?_ Before he had a chance to look closer, Hilbert’s Pokemon quickly doused his weapon with a Water Gun, cleaning off the substance. 

  
  


“Maru, use Focus Energy!” Hilbert yelled. 

  
  


Concentrating, Maru made the familiar yellow energy pillars surround him, and then they shot into the air where they dissolved. He then ran forward, his seashells at the ready. 

  
  


“Interceptor, don’t dodge it!” Cheren called. “You need to take one for the team!” 

  
  


_Then that seals it,_ Hilbert thought. _He’s sending out his starter next, but there’s no turning back now._

  
  


Bracing itself for its inevitable knockout, Pidove just stood there and took the Razor Shell attack, which of course also ended up being a critical hit, knocking it out in a single blow. Hilbert’s Pokedex chirped, telling him that Maru was now level 24. 

  
  


Grinning evilly, Cheren then recalled his Pidove, then grabbed another Poke Ball off his belt, then threw it. “Go, Tara!” 

  
  


What emerged from the Ball caused Hilbert’s tired eyes to widen, though in hindsight, he should have seen it coming. Cheren’s starter was no longer a Snivy, and had evolved. “Wha-!?” 

  
  


“What, you thought Tara _wouldn’t_ have evolved into a Servine by now? Are you dumb?” Cheren laughed. 

  
  


Servine was a snake-like Pokemon that resembled a taller version of Snivy. It was still bipedal, but only just, as its legs were smaller than Snivy’s, as were its arms. Its entire underbelly and face was cream, while its back was green. It had red eyes, and a yellow crest, looking almost like a fancy shirt collar, extended out of its chest and went behind its neck. Two palmate leaves jutted up out of its back, with a third one making up the end of its tail. 

  
  


Needing no command, Servine lunged towards her enemy, growing a thin vine from her atrophied arm, and cracked it forward. The Vine Whip attack struck Maru, and he screamed at the super-effective damage, but he was not down for the count. His seashells glowing green, he ran at the Servine, attempting to slash it with Fury Cutter, only to watch in horror as it twisted its serpentine body out of the way, then struck with another Vine Whip, knocking him out. 

  
  


Cheren expected that to be the end, and Hilbert would simply fall like a line of dominoes, but much to his shock, he saw confidence in his opponent’s weary gaze as he returned his starter. 

  
  


“Go, Makue!” Hilbert yelled, sending out his next Pokemon. 

  
  


Cheren let out a sharp noise. _Dammit! A Darumaka!?_ He knew, and hated, the Zen Charm Pokemon well, as they had been the bane of his Servine’s existence over the past few days while training. “Tara, Leaf Tornado! Now!” he yelled. “Keep it away from you!” 

  
  


Servine began to gyrate its upper body around in a circular motion, going faster and faster. Soon, a flurry of air formed above it, joined by glowing, light-green leaves. It then cracked its body like a whip, sending the maelstrom rocketing at Makue with frightening speed. 

  
  


Makue was hit by the tornado, the leaves inside cutting at her like blades, causing her to fall flat on her face. Much to Cheren’s dismay, though, the attack hadn’t moved her back much, if at all. He gulped as she got up, clenching her fist and covering it fire. Makue then ran towards Servine with murderous intent clear in her eyes.

  
  


In desperation, Tara grew another vine from her hand and snapped it towards Makue once she was close enough, and though the attack struck, it barely slowed her down. She delivered the Fire Punch straight to the Servine’s chest, sending her flying back… but it wasn’t enough to knock her out. Servine’s defenses had saved her. 

  
  


“Yes!” Cheren yelled even as Hilbert cursed. 

  
  


Battered, Servine nonetheless got up, formed an energy ball between its hands and shot it at Makue. Hilbert’s sleep-deprived brain realized too late what it was. “Oh, shit! It’s Leech Seed! Makue-!” It was too late. By the time that sentence was out of his mouth, she had already been hit, with the small shoots sprouting up out of her body, giving a bit of much-needed health back to Servine. 

  
  


This minor victory didn’t last long, as Makue, doing her best to ignore the pain caused by literally having her energy sapped, ran forward, her fist aflame. She punched with all she had left, knocking out the Servine. 

  
  


Grimacing, Cheren returned his starter to her Poke Ball. _I hope I can pull this off, because this is coming down to the wire,_ he thought. Picking his second-last Pokemon, he threw it out. “Go, Allizel!” 

  
  


‘Allizel’ turned out to be a Panpour, but by the time Hilbert registered this, it had already shot a Water Gun, knocking Makue out. He shook his head, trying to regain at least some semblance of awareness. _Come on, keep it together, man, don’t collapse now…_ he mentally chided himself. 

  
  


He plucked Sensei’s Poke Ball off his belt, and threw it. He took some satisfaction in seeing Cheren’s face pale at the Sawk. 

  
  


“H-how did you catch one of those things..?” the black-haired boy said in awe. 

  
  


“Not easily, I’ll say that much,” Hilbert smirked wearily. “Cost me some blood to do it, but it was damn well worth it, as you’re about to see. Sensei, Leer, then Focus Energy!” 

  
  


Sensei’s eyes glowed red, freezing Panpour in place, giving him the time he needed to create and disperse the yellow pillars of Focus Energy. He then ran at Panpour, dodging a Water Gun shot by the Spray Pokemon, and lashed out with his legs, landing each strike as a critical hit, knocking out his opponent with that one attack. 

  
  


_Fuck..!_ Cheren thought, recalling his Panpour. He knew he was at a serious disadvantage against the Fighting-type as he grabbed his last Poke Ball, but was determined to fight to the last. “Get out there, Krocomire!” 

  
  


Hilbert was shocked as a Sandile materialized in front of Sensei. “You… you’re not using your Purrloin anymore?” he asked. It wasn’t an accusatory tone, just a curious one. 

  
  


“Purrloin was always just a temporary member of my team until I could catch a Sandile, Hilbert,” Cheren said. “I intended to do this pretty much from the start. Now Krocomire, use Sand Tomb!” 

  
  


Sandile whipped its head around, and a tornado of rough sand swirled up around Sensei, trapping him inside and battering him. The Sandile, even though knowing it was likely in vain, then ran up and smacked Sensei in the shin with its tail in an Assurance attack. Unfortunately, this had the side effect of making the sand tornado disappear, and Sensei was able to strike it with a super-effective Low Sweep with his other leg. The attack wasn’t a critical, but it didn’t need to be. The Sandile was knocked out, winning Hilbert the battle- but only just. Hilbert’s Pokedex dinged again, letting him know that Sensei had leveled up. 

  
  


Hilbert let out an exhausted, relieved sigh, breathing heavily, his head turned skyward even as the shadow of a large Flying-type passed overhead. Cheren recalled his Pokemon in shock. _What..?_ he thought, barely able to process what just happened. _There… there has to be some mistake-!_ Suddenly, the answer came to him, striking him like a Thunder attack. He whipped his backpack off his shoulders and all but tore it open, then unzipped an inner pouch, seeing what he so dreaded seeing inside. It was a Sitrus Berry, a Berry that restored 30 percent of a Pokemon’s health when held. 

  
  


_You’ve gotta be KIDDING me! I FORGOT to put that on Tara!? If I remembered, I would have won! Dammit! Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!_ Cheren let out a loud cry of anger to cap off that train of thought. He looked up to find Hilbert standing over him. 

  
  


“You gonna gimme my prize money, or what?” he said flatly, yawning again. 

  
  


Cheren growled, closing his backpack and throwing on before standing up. “Fine, fine,” he hissed, pulling his Trainer Card and tapping it against Hilbert’s. “You just got lucky, that’s all. _Really_ damn lucky.” He then looked down at the numbers on his Trainer Card, seeing how much money he had given Hilbert, and a cold jolt went up his spine. “...What the _fuck?_ How did you take so much money off my Card!?” 

  
  


“Oh, that,” Hilbert said, taking Maru’s Poke Ball off his belt and holding the central button, causing the Amulet Coin to materialize in his other hand. “It’s because of this. It’s an Amulet Coin. I got by helping someone in Castelia. It doubles the prize money I get from battles, if the Pokemon holding it participates in the battle.” 

  
  


“What!?” Cheren cried. “And you didn’t tell me you got that when we met in Castelia’s Pokemon Center _why,_ exactly!?” 

  
  


“I didn’t think it was important,” Hilbert replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to Nimbasa’s Pokemon Center. I have some missed sleep to catch up on.” 

  
  


Cheren was by now shaking with rage, but Hilbert was oblivious to it until Cheren ran after him, grabbing his arm and whirling him around. 

  
  


“What the hell!?” Hilbert cried, but was slightly taken aback by seeing Cheren’s face flushed with so much anger. 

  
  


“This. Isn’t. _Fair!”_ Cheren shouted. “I spent _days_ training in this wasteland, and you beat me all because I made a stupid _mistake!_ What could you have _possibly_ done to compare to that-“

  
  


“I watched people _DIE_ , Cheren!” Hilbert screamed, cutting him off. “You have no _idea_ what I’ve been through! Don’t give me that ‘hard done by’ crap! At least you weren’t almost _killed!”_

  
  


“What did you say..?” Cheren breathed, genuinely taken aback. 

  
  


“It was in Pinwheel Forest,” Hilbert answered. “When Team Plasma stole the Dragonite bones. They took a couple of Rangers hostage… and they captured me, too. They slit their throats right in front of me, and I- I couldn’t do anything to stop it. If it weren’t for Burgh… I wouldn’t be standing here right now. And then there was last night, when-“ 

  
  


Just then, both their Cross-Transceivers started ringing, interrupting what 

Hilbert was about to say. He looked down at the device on his wrist, seeing it was Juniper’s number. “Oh, no…” he said, groaning. 

  
  


Unfortunately, Cheren answered the call without a second thought, and Juniper’s face appeared on the screens. “Hello, boys,” she said. “I’m inside the Nimbasa Gate right now. Would you mind joining me? We… need to talk. And that goes _double_ for you, Hilbert.” Her eyes narrowed and her voice took on a decidedly more threatening tone when she said his name. 

  
  


_Dammit… time to face the fucking music,_ Hilbert thought. He went with Cheren into the Gate, where Juniper awaited. 

  
  


They both saw her right away, sitting on a chair against the wall. When she heard the double doors open, she stood up, walking towards them. Completely ignoring Hilbert, she said, “Ah, Cheren! How have things been going for you?” 

  
  


“Oh… as well as could be expected, I guess,” Cheren replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “I caught a new member for my team- a Sandile, to be precise.” 

  
  


“That’s great! I’m glad to hear you’re keeping up on the Pokedex!” Juniper said. “Unlike someone _else_ I could name…” she added through gritted teeth. Hilbert couldn’t help but ignore the scornful look she shot in his direction when she said that. 

  
  


“Juniper, if you’ve got something to say to me, just say it,” he growled. “I need to get to Nimbasa so I can take a nap.” 

  
  


“Okay, you want me to say something to you?” Juniper said caustically. “How about this: What the _hell_ were you _thinking_ back on Liberty Garden losing me Victini!? Why didn’t you just _catch it!?”_

  
  


Cheren gasped at the mention of the mythical Pokémon’s name. “Wait… did you say Victini?” he asked. 

  
  


“Yeah, she obviously did,” Hilbert said. “What about it?” 

  
  


“Hilbert, are you dumb!?” Cheren said. “Do you know how powerful the folktales say that thing is? Why wouldn’t you catch it? Were you _trying_ to handicap yourself?” 

  
  


“You’ve heard about Victini, Cheren?” Juniper asked, genuinely interested. 

  
  


“Yeah, I read a bit about it online before all this, but again, only what a few folktales say,” Cheren said, beginning to pace while Hilbert started to tremble with rage. “It’s said Victini possesses an unlimited amount of energy inside itself, and anyone who befriends it apparently becomes unbeatable in battle.” 

  
  


“Well nobody fuckin’ told _me_ that!” Hilbert barked. He stabbed a shaking finger at Juniper. “Had I known, or had _you_ damn well told me about it- I would’ve caught that thing in a heartbeat!” 

  
  


Juniper threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, turning her back to him and taking a few steps away. “Hilbert, I didn’t need to! The term ‘mythical Pokemon’ kind of implies they’re powerful! It’s right there in the name!” She turned back to him. “And none of this changes the fact that you lost me the opportunity to study it!” 

  
  


“So? What are you gonna do about it, then?” Hilbert said, crossing his arms. 

  
  


“Oh, I know _exactly_ what I’m going to do,” Juniper said, a devious smile oozing its way across her face. “I’ll have your Trainer’s license revoked, and have all your Pokemon taken away, _unless_ you do me one thing.” 

  
  


Hilbert narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t dare,” he hissed. “You wouldn’t fucking _dare.”_

  
  


“”I would, and unless you hear me out, I absolutely _will,_ Warren,” Juniper spat his last name out in contempt. “Keep in mind, you’ve been nothing but rude, abrasive, and aggressive towards me since we’ve met. Now, do you want to hear what I have to say? Or do you want to have your license revoked?” Her finger hovered over her Cross-Transceiver. “It’ll only take one quick call to the right officials.” 

  
  


Hilbert grit his teeth so hard he swore he was eroding their enamel. At last, after a tense silence, he growled, “Alright. What are your conditions?” 

  
  


Juniper grinned, knowing she had him cornered. “What I want you to do is go southwest of here to a place called the Desert Resort, and find me a fossil. While this won’t come _close_ to replacing Victini, it’ll have to do. They occasionally find Pokemon fossils out there, and they can be revived into rare Pokemon at-“ 

  
  


“At the Nacrene Museum, I know,” Hilbert said. “Already been. Only question is how the hell am I gonna find a fossil out in that wasteland? It’s huge!” 

  
  


“That’s your problem, not mine,” Juniper said. “Though I would recommend you search near or in the Relic Castle. It’s an ancient ruin, and it’s all that’s left of the main castle of Ancient Unova. Fossils turn up there from time to time, so I’d say that’s your best bet.” 

  
  


“Alright, fine, I’ll do it!” Hilbert yelled. He then sighed. “Not like I have a choice anyway… Just let me heal my Pokemon at the Nimbasa Pokemon Center and then I’ll go. I’m _not_ going out there with my team almost all fainted.” 

  
  


“That sounds fair,” Juniper shrugged. “Just don’t dawdle, or bye-bye license.” 

  
  


Hilbert only dignified that with a low, murderous growl. 

  
  


“Oh, come on, Hilbert!” Juniper said, smiling, though there was a sadistic edge to it. “Being an archeologist can be fun, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Besides- the Desert Resort is nicer than your average desert.”


	21. Chapter 19: A Night in Ruins

**Long Way to Fall**

  
  


**By: Rylek196**

  
  


**Chapter 19: A Night in Ruins**

  
  


The sights and sounds of Nimbasa were as worthless as dirt to Hilbert as he exited the Pokemon Center, his team newly healed up and the Antidote he bought in Castelia sold. There wasn’t a massive risk of running into Poison-types in the desert anyway, he figured, so getting rid of it was harmless. As he made his way back to the Nimbasa Gate, he checked his Pokedex to gauge the levels of his Pokemon. Maru was now level 24, _still_ not having learned any new moves. 

  
  


Hilbert groaned. _Come on, buddy,_ he thought. _You’ve gotta learn something new soon!_

  
  


Meanwhile, his Sawk was now level 21, and trying to learn the Fighting-type Counter, a move that always went second, and dealt double the damage of any physical attack done to the user. Guessing that it was going to be unreliable at best, Hilbert turned it down. 

  
  


The tired boy trudged back to the Nimbasa Gate, opening the double doors and savouring the air-conditioned interior while he could. It made the desert heat hit all the harder once he stepped back out into it. He stood there for a few seconds, before saying, “Well… here we go,” and setting off. 

  
  


He walked south for about twenty minutes until he found the sign indicating the Relic Castle’s location. He then took a sharp turn west, and began marching through the sand, even as the wind started to pick up. 

  
  


_Nicer than your average desert,_ Hilbert thought, thoroughly irritated. _NICER THAN YOUR AVERAGE DESERT. Go_ _ **fuck yourself**_ , _Juniper! My fuckin’_ _ **ass**_ _it is!_ He didn’t dare to vocalize these thoughts though, lest he get a mouthful of sand if he opened his mouth. 

  
  


The Desert Resort was a hellhole. That was the conclusion he had come to within minutes of entering it. Not only was the sand constantly getting in his shoes driving him nuts, for some reason, the wind blew harder in this specific section of the vast Unovan desert, kicking up said sand and sending it flying in all directions. ‘All directions’ however, turned out to more often than not be exactly where he was standing. His jacket’s hood was up, his mouth and nose were buried in the crook of his elbow to serve as extra protection, and the constant squint he had to do was giving him a headache due to the way it pulled the skin of his forehead down. 

  
  


It was for all these reasons, then, that this _real_ unforgiving desert played a _fictional_ unforgiving desert, as a few scenes from the movie The Hero of Time were shot on-location here. The Desert Resort served as a perfect stand-in for a place called the ‘Haunted Wasteland’ the Hero had to traverse to get to his next destination on his quest. This destination was a structure called the ‘Desert Colossus’- in reality a ruined tower to the northwest that was transformed with the aid of giant green screens and computer VFX into something far more impressive than it actually was. 

  
  


There was a great variety of Pokemon in this place, but none that really interested him. He was here for a fossil and a fossil only. Sandile and Darumaka burrowed into the sand **,** Scraggy and Dwebble ran wild and sometimes fought each other, creating mini-dust clouds in their squabbles, Grass-types that resembled cacti called Maractus shuffled along on the dunes, shaking their arms as they went, making noises that sounded like maracas, and most mysterious of all, indescribable winged creatures called Sigilyph flew in strange patterns, guardians of a now long-gone kingdom.

  
  


_And I thought the road was bad… it’s nothing compared to this shit,_ he thought. _I swear, Juniper is a dead woman walking. When I see her next, I’m gonna..._ He left the mental threat hanging when he saw something green out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head towards it, just being able to make out a moving green shape somewhere in the distance to the north. He couldn’t make out any details due to the sandstorm, but then turned away. 

  
  


_...It’s probably just an Arceus-damned Maractus. Fuckin’ things are everywhere around here._ Much as he tried to tell himself that, there was something about the way the green shape had moved. It flapped like a flag, looking almost like… hair. _No! No, no, no, no! It is NOT that son of a bitch! It’s just a Maractus, and nothing more!_

  
  


Much as he tried to comfort himself with that thought, he couldn’t shake the feeling that what he saw was something- or _someone_ \- far more dangerous than a Maractus. Trying to shake off the ominous feeling, he continued on, going in the direction his gut instinct _told_ him was west. In reality he had no idea. Everything looked alike, all sand, dunes, and the occasional rock formation. _Sure wish I had a map, or at least a compass… They’d make navigating a hell of a lot easier…_

  
  


After about a half an hour of walking through sand, fighting the odd wild Pokemon here and there, he saw several blue lumps jutting up out of the ground, all arranged in a rough circle around a blocky structure. _Well hold the phone…_ he mentally muttered. _That might be it._ He picked up his pace slightly, laser-focused on the ruin and the blue shapes surrounding it. Inside of seven minutes, he was within touching distance of it. 

  
  


The blue lumps turned out to be statues of a Pokemon of some description, with carved hands on the sides of their bodies, and stubby legs in positions akin to a meditating guru. They stared forward at nothing with grimacing mouths and creepy, blank eyes. 

  
  


_What_ are _these things?_ Hilbert thought. Shaking his head, he went around to the front of the structure. It was little more than a large limestone doorway, with stairs inside leading down into the earth in a way that reminded him of the hallway to Victini’s room on Liberty Garden. There was a small plaque screwed into the side of the entrance. ‘RELIC CASTLE RUINS’, it read. ‘ALL THAT REMAINS OF THE MAIN PALACE AND FORTRESS OF THE TWIN HEROES OF ANCIENT UNOVA.’ 

  
  


Sighing tiredly, Hilbert shrugged his bag back into position, and descended the stairs, praying he would find a fossil somewhere inside. 

  
  


At the bottom of the stairway was a large chamber, blocky in shape, with sand blanketing the floor. Right ahead was a flight of stairs going down to another floor. There were a few hieroglyphics scrawled onto the right wall, but they looked crudely done. A few tourists gazed at the carvings, snapping pictures of them with their phones, but Hilbert paid them little mind. 

  
  


_Now, if I were a Pokemon fossil, where would I be?_ he thought to himself. _Probably buried, but I doubt I can start digging here without some sort of permit… Gah! This is so stupid! Juniper set me up to fail! She_ knew _I wouldn’t be able to find a fossil! That bitch! That fucking BITCH!_

  
  


Hilbert’s breathing quickly increased as anger overtook him, and a strong urge to punch a wall- or someone’s _face_ (preferably Juniper’s) welled up from within. Suddenly, he heard groaning from somewhere nearby, and rounding a corner, he saw a woman slumped against the wall, a large backpack next to her. She wore khaki jeans and a sleeveless red vest over a tan shirt with three-quarter sleeves. Past her was another flight of stairs that went even deeper underground. 

  
  


“Hey, you okay?” Hilbert asked her, walking up. 

  
  


“Oh? Yeah… yeah, I’m fine,” the woman panted. “Don’t… don’t worry about me… Just taking a bit of a break… That bag is really heavy due to the fossils in it…” 

  
  


Hilbert felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened immediately in a mixture of relief and shock at how lucky this was. “Really!?” he exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement. “Y-you found Pokemon fossils?” 

  
  


If the woman found his reaction strange, she didn’t show it. “Yeah, I found some…” she said. “Two of them, to be precise. Usually I’d hate to do this, but I’m actually glad you’re here in this case. Would… would you be willing to take one of them off my hands? I thought I could carry them both, but they’re just so heavy… I can’t take another step with them both…” 

  
  


Inwardly, Hilbert was hopping up and down with joy, but he merely said, “Uh, uh… absolutely! I’ll definitely take one for you!” His heart was pounding like a drum as the woman took two fossils from her bag and placed them into the sand. 

  
  


“Okay, then here they are. One’s a Cover Fossil, and one’s a Plume Fossil. Have your pick of one.” 

  
  


Hilbert stared at the fossils with wonder. Both were a bluish-gray in color, with one having what appeared to be a fragment of bony shell embedded into it, while the other displayed a dagger-like feather. He rubbed his fingers together, at a loss on how to decide which one to pick. Having no idea what Pokemon each fossil would be revived into, he soon shrugged and thought, _Fuck it,_ pointing at one of the fossils. 

  
  


“Eeny, meeny, miney, moe,” he said, his index finger darting to each fossil in turn. “Catch-a-Growlithe-by-the-toe. If he hollers, let him go. Enny, meeny, miney… moe!” In the end, his finger settled on the Plume Fossil. He opened his shoulder bag. “Guess I’m going with this one.” 

  
  


He bent down to pick up the cantaloupe-sized chunk of rock, only to be shocked when that wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. “Geez, what does this thing weigh, like twenty fuckin’ pounds!?” he exclaimed. 

  
  


“Well, _duh,”_ the woman said, finally getting to her feet, her breath at last caught. “What did you think Pokemon fossils were, rocks? They’re actually highly condensed chunks of energy the Pokemon are made of that turned rock-hard over the years. That’s why they’re so heavy, it’s ‘cause they’re really dense for what they are.” 

  
  


“Yeah, that’s all well and good, but could you help me!?” Hilbert snapped. “Hold my bag open so I can put this in there!” 

  
  


“Okay, okay, no need to be rude…” the woman replied. She did as she was asked, holding Hilbert’s shoulder bag open while he plopped the fossil inside. 

He grunted as this happened, the weight making the bag’s strap dig into his shoulder uncomfortably and making him list to the side like he was drunk. “...You sure you’re gonna be okay?” she asked in concern. 

  
  


“Yeah… I’ll be fine…” Hilbert said through gritted teeth, already turning to leave. “Don’t worry… about me…” 

  
  


With sluggish, heavy footsteps, he slowly made his way up the stairs out of the Relic Castle and back into the Desert Resort. To his relief, the wind had mostly died down. “That’s good…” he panted. “Maybe things… are finally… going my way…” 

  
  


He began to walk back to the road, retracing his steps east, but had barely gone thirty feet when an enormous gust of wind came from the opposite direction, nearly blowing his hat clean off his head. Worse yet, said wind didn’t abate. In fact, it only got stronger. Then, he heard it. A mighty roar, like the cry of some ungodly powerful Pokemon, coming from behind him. He turned around, gasping in sheer horror. A massive wall of sand, taller than a five-story building, was quickly moving in from the west, sixty feet away and closing fast. 

  
  


“Uh, oh…” was all he could say. He spent a few precious seconds frozen in fear, then a few more desperately looking around for shelter, before realizing that the only shelter around was the underground chamber he had just left behind. He rocked back on his heels, adrenaline fuelling him as he tried to run against the wind, the sandstorm getting ever closer. He held his cap on his head as the swirling grains buffeted him, practically diving into the Relic Castle’s entryway. He ran down the stairs, and seconds later the sandstorm engulfed the ruins, as well as everything else in the Desert Resort, in its gritty embrace. 

  
  


Inside the chamber, Hilbert found the tourist couple, as well as the woman with the large backpack, looking around in fear. “What was that?” the man asked, his accent having a distinct eastern flavour to it. “What just happened? What was that big noise just now?” 

  
  


“Big… big sandstorm…” Hilbert panted, resting his hands on his knees. “You… you don’t wanna go out there…” 

  
  


“Wait, so we’re trapped!?” the woman next to the man (presumably his wife) shrieked. “I don’t wanna die in here! H-how long do these sandstorms last!?” 

  
  


“Not long,” the backpacker woman said. “At least, not usually. The longest one on record I think lasted for two weeks-“ 

  
  


The woman shrieked again. “Two _weeks!?_ We can’t be in here for that long! We’ll starve!” She grabbed her husband’s arm for comfort. “Please tell me we’re not gonna die, honey… _please…”_

  
  


The other woman rolled her eyes. “As I was _saying,_ the longest one on record was two weeks, but I doubt that’ll happen ever again. More than likely, this one will just last a day or two. Yeah, we’ll be hungry, but that’s not long enough for us to starve to death. Speaking of which, does anyone have any food on them? Because I’m fresh out.” 

  
  


A cold chill went up Hilbert’s spine as he remembered he had forgotten to get any food at the Nimbasa Pokemon Center. “No, I don’t,” he said, voice gradually getting angrier, “Dammit, I thought this would be a quick trip to get a fossil and leave! I’m such an _idiot_! Fuck!” He kicked the sand in a rage, sending a shower of it at a wall. 

  
  


The man just twirled his finger near his temple in a ‘he’s crazy’ gesture at his wife. Thankfully, Hilbert didn’t notice this, else he would have torn him to shreds. The woman giggled to herself, but then said, “No, we don’t either. Some water, yes, but no food.” 

  
  


“Dammit…” Hilbert repeated, suddenly feeling very, very tired, the weight of his fatigue hitting him like an anvil. “Then we all better try to make ourselves comfortable. We’re probably gonna be here for hours. And I’m tired as hell.” He walked over to the center of the room, took off his bag and sat down.

  
  


“Agreed,” the backpacker woman said. “It’s also gonna get pretty cold in here at night. I have a small battery-powered space heater, but I doubt that it'll be good enough. Anyone have any Fire-types?” 

  
  


“I do,” Hilbert said tiredly. He took the Great Ball he had caught Makue in off his belt and let her free. 

  
  


“Is that a Darumaka?” the man said, coming over. “We saw several of those things on our way here. Man, Pokemon in Unova look so exotic compared to the ones we have in Kanto!” 

  
  


Hilbert turned his head to look at him. “Wait, you’re from Kanto?” _It does explain the accent._

  
  


“Yep!” the man smiled with pride, sitting down next to Hilbert. “Saffron City born and raised! Name’s Alek and that’s my wife Emi. We came here for a bit of a change of scenery for a few weeks, but it looks like we got more than we bargained for with this tour…” 

  
  


Hilbert snorted, but there was no humour behind it. “You’re tellin’ me. I’m not much for history, but if that sandstorm lasts any longer than a few days, we might all become it here…” 

  
  


“It _won’t._ Don’t be such a pessimist. We’re gonna be fine,” the backpacker woman said, walking over with Emi. “And since we’re all doing the whole introductions thing here, I’m Ashley. I’m a tour guide for this place.” 

  
  


The boy looked up at her with haggard eyes. “Hilbert,” he replied simply, yawning. 

  
  


“Y’know, you can go to sleep right now,” Ashley said, looking at him with concern. “You seem really tired.” 

  
  


“Didn’t get any sleep last night. You don’t wanna know why. And I could, but that would screw up my sleep schedule. Last thing I want to do is wake up in the middle of the night in this place.” 

  
  


“Fair enough, I guess,” Ashley shrugged. She sat down, Emi doing the same, then took the space heater from her pack, but left it off for the time being. 

  
  


“Well, then why don’t we swap stories around, get to each other, then?” Emi said. “It’s not like we have anything better to do, and the last thing we need to be right now is bored.” 

  
  


“Count me out,” Hilbert said. 

  
  


“Why?” Alek asked. “You’re a Trainer, right? I’m sure you’ve got _some_ interesting stories to tell.” 

  
  


“Yeah, but they’re nothing I want to relive, if you don’t mind,” Hilbert said, his tone making it clear he was not going to elaborate any further. 

  
  


Alek just held his hands up beside his face. “Okay. I’m sorry.” 

  
  


“Hmm… There was that one time we fought Red! Tell them about that, honey!” Emi said. 

  
  


“What? You fought _Red?”_ Hilbert said in awe, his eyes widening. 

  
  


“Oh, yes we have!” Alek said, grinning. “Granted, this was _waaay_ back in the day, before he became world-famous. We were about your age, Hilbert, what was called a ‘Young Couple’, if I remember correctly. We were just walking along a place called Silence Bridge on Route 12 for a date, when we saw him.” 

  
  


“And you thought we could beat him, right?” Emi said teasingly. 

  
  


“Oh, yeah, I did,” Alek rubbed the back of his neck in sheepish shame as he dredged up the memory. 

  
  


“And? What happened?” Hilbert said, suddenly interested. 

  
  


“He wiped the freakin’ floor with us!” Alek laughed. “He was _ruthlessly_ strong, even before he became Indigo League Champion! He only used his Charmeleon and Jolteon, but those were more than enough to bring us down almost before we could get in any attacks! Let me tell ya, kid, the stories you’ve heard about him are all true. I can’t imagine how powerful he is now- he’s probably invincible! Just a shame he hasn’t been seen for the past half-decade. I wonder where he is now and what he’s doing…” 

  
  


Ashley just about slapped herself as she recalled something just then. “Wait, speaking of stories, I never told you guys about the story behind this place, did I? I was just so exhausted from carrying around those fossils, it slipped my mind!” She gave a nervous chuckle. “Oops.” 

  
  


“Oh no, it’s fine,” Emi said. “Go ahead. I’m interested in why this place is a big desert.” 

  
  


Hilbert, on the other hand, rolled his eyes, giving a tiny, almost inaudible groan. 

  
  


“Well, we don’t know much, quite honestly,” Ashley began, “And most of what we _do_ know comes from the hieroglyphics drawn on the walls both in here and deeper in the castle. Took scholars decades to translate them, because they’re nothing like the simple Unown characters the Ruins of Alph in Johto use.

  
  


“Anyway, at the top of the hierarchical food chain were the twin kings of Unova, the heroes, who built this place thousands of years ago with the help of a divine Dragon-type Pokemon. Under them were at least five noble houses of equal standing, though we don’t know the names of four of them, as they were all wiped out in the Scorch War. The only one we _do_ know anything about is House Lyndar, and that’s because the mayor of Opelucid City, Drayden, is its final known descendant.” 

  
  


“Wait… what?” Hilbert, who had only been paying mild attention until then, suddenly piped up. “The mayor of Opelucid is royalty?” 

  
  


“Well, once, but I doubt that’s true anymore,” Ashley said. “I honestly don’t like him, because anytime he’s been asked about his family’s past by historians, he’s been kinda cagey and dodges around the questions. I can only wonder how much more insight we’d gain into life in Ancient Unova if he’d just open his damn yap. I personally think he’s hiding something, but I don’t know what.” 

  
  


“Must be pretty important,” Hilbert mused. 

  
  


“Probably. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, so the heroes ruled well for a time and everyone was happy. But, nothing lasts forever, and the beginning of the end of Ancient Unova was a simple argument that they had. According to legend, the older brother wanted to keep things the way they were, and accept the world as-is, but the younger brother thought they should keep striving to improve things and work towards complete perfection. Truth, and Ideals. You can already see where this is going. Two different, opposing ideologies that can never coexist, yet are two sides of the same coin, on a collision course. War was inevitable at that point, and when it hit, it was devastating.

  
  


“The war crumbled the kingdom the heroes had built in a matter of a few years, and the final battle caused a massive explosion of energy that turned the land into a giant desert. It’s a wound on the landscape that will probably never heal. One last thing I want to mention is that carving there,” Ashley pointed to crude images on the right wall. They depicted a four-winged Pokemon of some sort with a crescent-shaped body, wavy lines radiating from it. Off to the sides, humanoid figures ran from it, while others were depicted bowing or praying before it. 

  
  


“Yeah… I’ve been wondering about that,” Alek said. “Why do those look so hastily done? The images you showed down on the lower floor were gorgeous, but that one… not so much.” 

  
  


“As best we can tell, that was done in the final days of the Scorch War, so that’s why they look so crude,” Ashley said. “They literally didn’t have time for anything fancy; just scratch a record onto the wall and that’ll have to do. As for what it’s depicting, it’s a Pokemon called Volcarona, a Bug/Fire-type. They’re not unheard of, but they’re _incredibly_ rare to find, and they’re powerful. In fact, only a single Volcarona was said to have powered _all_ the forges that made armour and weapons for the Scorch War. There’s a poem that’s become associated with that carving for hundreds of years, though it’s likely not what it actually says. It goes: ‘In this place, we left our fire behind. Deep beneath the castle, in a chamber it resides. Waiting, waiting for the seal to come undone. Its name is Volcarona, and it was our light. Our sun’.” 

  
  


“Interesting,” Hilbert said, yawning. “Anyone ever been down to the lower levels of this place to check if it’s there?” 

  
  


“Weirdly enough, no,” Ashley replied. “I guess nobody wants to risk disturbing it if it is there. By the way, what time is it?” 

  
  


Hilbert checked his watch. “Around three in the afternoon,” he said. “We’ve still got a few more hours before we probably need to turn on that space heater. I’ll have Makue here use Fire Punch to keep us warm, as well.” 

  
  


“Okay,” Ashley said. “We should be a bit careful as it gets later, though. Ghost-types called Yamask like to roam around in here at night, but they won’t bother us if we don’t bother them.” 

  
  


Ashley, Emi, and Alek continued to swap stories for a few more hours, but Hilbert just tuned them out and remained quiet, not wishing to share anything he had been through. 

  
  


However, that night, he turned on his Cross-Transceiver, and selected his mother’s number. It had been far too long since he had contacted her. Even though he had little hope this was going to work, he tried to call her anyway. Exactly as he expected, the screen came up with nothing but static. There was simply too much interference from both being underground and the sandstorm for the signal to get through. 

  
  


_Dammit…_ he thought, but then sighed. Even though it was crazy, he decided to say what he wanted to say regardless. 

  
  


“Hi… Mom,” he said, his voice weary. “I really wish I could say things were going great, but they haven’t been. Currently trapped inside an ancient ruin by a sandstorm with a few other people… and none of us have any food. It’s supposed to abate by tomorrow, but if it doesn’t… I don’t know what we’re gonna do. The water we have should keep us alive, but without food we’re not going to last. So just in case this is the last time I get to say it… I love you. Goodnight.” 

  
  


He turned off the device and sighed. He looked around, only to find Ashley staring right at him with a confused expression, illuminated by the glow of Makue’s Fire Punch as well as the space heater. She was using her large backpack as a pillow. “Dude, you know you’re talking to a screen full of static, right?” she whispered. “And don’t be so melodramatic. We’re gonna get out of this just fine, and we’ll be laughing about it later. Now go to sleep.” 

  
  


“ _Shut up,”_ Hilbert hissed, not having any witty comeback besides that. Taking the Plume Fossil out of his bag and setting it to the side, he lay down on the sand, his head on his bag, and closed his eyes. 

  
  


It was the sound of shovels that woke Hilbert from a rather uncomfortable sleep. His eyes fluttered open, feeling the thin sheen of sweat that covered his body. He sat up and looked around. He saw that Makue couldn’t keep up the Fire Punch all night, and was now asleep. However, the space heater had done its job and then some, if the sweat he felt was any indication. 

  
  


The scraping noise continued, with Ashley, Alek, and Emi being awoken by it too. Alek realized what was going on first, and sprang up, running towards the stairs. “Hey!” he yelled at the sand-covered exit. “Are you rescue workers? We’re down here!” 

  
  


There came a muffled cry of surprise, then someone yelled, “Hey, you two! Get over here now! There’s people in the Relic Castle!” 

  
  


A few seconds later, the digging sounds increased threefold, with someone yelling, “Just hang in there! We’ll get ya out!” 

  
  


“Oh, trust me, we’ve got nothing but time here!” Alek called back jokingly. 

  
  


After a few minutes, the search-and-rescue crew finally managed to clear the sand around the Relic Castle’s entrance, and sunlight streamed down into the underground chamber. 

  
  


“Come on, guys!” Alek said, motioning with his arm. “We’re home free!” 

  
  


Hilbert quickly recalled Makue and stuffed the Plume Fossil back into his bag, following Alek and Emi up to the surface, Ashley bringing up the rear. What they found there was a group of search-and-rescue workers, like they expected, but the landscape had also changed entirely. Sand was now piled much higher all around the Relic Castle, with the Pokemon statues now utterly buried. However, there was also a news crew there, with an anchor reporting on what happened as well a cameraman filming everything. 

  
  


“As you can see, the Relic Castle has been almost completely buried,” the newswoman said into her microphone. “We’re still unsure as the actual number killed in the Desert Resort, but we do have survivors. Let’s see if we can get a word with one of them.” 

  
  


Hilbert froze in fear as the news crew made their way over to him. _Dammit, after all I’ve been through with Team Plasma, the last thing I need is my face plastered all over national TV!_ he thought. 

  
  


However, to his eternal relief, Alek practically jumped in front of the news crew, actually eager to get some spotlight. “Uh, yes, I’ll answer any questions you have,” he said, seeming a little too gung-ho and probably about to embellish the story. 

  
  


Hilbert just rolled his eyes and turned to leave, needing to get to Nimbasa to buy food, but was stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around violently, only to find it was just Emi. Breathing heavily, he said, “You scared me there.” 

  
  


“Didn’t mean to. Sorry,” Emi said sheepishly. “But anyway, I wanted to give you these.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses that were entirely black, from the frame to the lenses, and handed them to him. 

  
  


“A Pokemon hold item?” Hilbert said. “What are these called?” 

  
  


“There are the Blackglasses, though you _can_ wear them as regular sunglasses,” Emi said. “Thought you might appreciate them. They up the power of Dark-type moves when held by a Pokemon.” 

  
  


Hilbert gave a small smile. “...Thanks,” he said simply. “I guess they’ll serve as a token of this… unique experience we all went through.

  
  


“Yeah. Maybe we’ll see each other again someday?” 

  
  


“Maybe. I’ll see ya around.” 

  
  


Without another word, Hilbert headed east, out of the Desert Resort and back to the main road, leaving everyone behind. The going was even tougher than before, with the dunes piled high, forcing him to practically climb them, with the addec weight of the Plume Fossil not helping in the slightest. At least the wind was nonexistent, and he had put on the Blackglasses to shield his eyes from the sun. 

  
  


He was about a kilometer away from the Relic Castle when he tripped on something, sending him face-first into the sand with an, “ _Oomph!”_ Shaking his head, he looked back, and let out a horrified gasp. He hadn’t tripped on _something_ \- rather, he had tripped over a human body, half-buried in the sand. Worse, he saw right away that this one was missing a hand. Looking around, he was shocked to discover several more lumps in the sand, undoubtedly corpses, gathered in a rough line ahead of him. 

  
  


“No way…” he breathed. “This is the gang that attacked me on Route 4…” He felt sick to stomach, and would have likely puked if there was anything in his gut to upchuck. “They must have been searching for me, or were just out here and got caught in the sandstorm...” 

  
  


He got up, brushing himself off, a wave of conflicting emotions churning inside him. In the end, anger won out, and he kicked the body of the leader a few times. “Serves you damn right!” he yelled. Giving the corpse one last harsh stomp, he then continued on, leaving the rest of the bodies in their sandy, shallow graves, not sure if this was a sight he would ever forget. 


	22. Chapter 20: History Comes Alive

**Long Way to Fall**

  
  


**By: Rylek196**

  
  


**Chapter 20: History Comes Alive**

  
  


After taking a quick shower and then scarfing down a much-needed meal with such voracity that it unsettled some people, Hilbert was back on the gruelling road out of Nimbasa. He made sure to buy not two but three LMT’s before leaving, as well as getting fresh water in his bottle rather than the days-old stuff in there already. Though he knew he needed to wash his clothes, he decided to forego doing so, as time was of the essence. Who knew how long he had before Juniper got antsy, after all. 

  
  


The going was even tougher this time, due to the added weight of the Plume Fossil in his bag. His pace was slow, he was listing slightly to the side, and he had a feeling his leg muscles, even _with_ his shoes, would be screaming at him in the morning. It was about noon when he passed by the sign indicating the Relic Castle’s location again, and it took him another two hours to reach the abandoned construction site and its lonely crane, silent monuments for a building project long dead. 

  
  


Despite the weight of the fossil, he increased his pace to get away from the site as fast as possible. Even though he knew the gang was dead by nature’s hand, the memory of his encounter with them still haunted him. Having left the only shelter on the Route behind, he was forced to walk through the night to reach Castelia. Unfortunately, being out in the open in a desert meant it got quite cold, and he had to put his jacket’s hood up and stick his hands in his pockets to keep his extremities warm as he trudged onward. A few foolish wild Pokemon (mostly Scraggy) crawled out of the sand to challenge him, but were all swiftly cut down by his Sawk or Dewott. However, the meager experience gained from these battles didn’t equate to a level up for either of them. 

  
  


At last, at three in the morning, he reached the north edge of Castelia. The city, having no bedtime, was still bustling, with the lights of the various skyscrapers on and hundreds of people going about their nighttime business. He caught a taxi to the Pokemon Center, which took another hour and ate up a good chunk of his money, to boot. The exhausted boy checked into a room at the Center, went upstairs, and fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow. 

  
  


He woke up at just after ten in the morning the next day **,** having slept in a little to make up for the sleep he missed. “Another night with basically no sleep…” he grumbled as he got up. “I can’t keep doing this…”

  
  


After getting dressed, he went downstairs to the lounge to get some much-needed breakfast. The mounted TV up on the wall was currently playing the news about the sandstorm in the Desert Resort. Apparently, the gang were not the only fatalities, with the body count now having gone into the low double-digits. He ate slowly because of this, and was only on his fifth spoonful of cereal when he heard the nurse on duty at one of the counters gasp loudly. 

  
  


“You… you’re letting your Pokemon go?” she said to the person at the counter, shocked. “But why would you want to do that?” 

  
  


Hilbert grit his teeth in preparation for what he knew was coming next. 

  
  


“Honestly? It’s because I believe in what Team Plasma says,” the young man , maybe a few years older than Hilbert, replied. “They’re doing good, y’know? I just never realized that I was actually being abusive towards my Pokemon, so I’m letting them be free.” 

  
  


Hilbert let out a sharp bark of laughter. “‘Team Plasma’s ‘doing good’, huh?” he said bitterly without turning around. “Gimme a break. They’re fucking _terrorists!”_ With that last word, he slammed his left fist down on the table with enough force to shake his cereal bowl. Finally turning around, he got up out of his seat and stormed towards the other Trainer. “And I’ve been through more than enough hell thanks to them to prove it!” 

  
  


“Oh yeah? Like what?” the Trainer said, crossing his arms.

  
  


“Hey, if you’re going to start something, take it outside!” the nurse said sternly. 

  
  


Hilbert ignored her, getting right up in the guy’s face. “Oh, where do I even _start?_ So far I’ve seen them steal a Pokemon a _child,_ vandalize and rob a display at a museum for a reason I still can’t figure out, and outright _murder people,_ with _me_ almost being one of those victims. And you’ve got the nerve to say they’re ‘doing good’ and go along with their bullshit!? Are you _insane!?”_

  
  


“That’s _enough!”_ the nurse yelled, slapping her hand down on the counter. “Sir, if all you’re going to do is try and pick a fight, then please leave.” 

  
  


Hilbert suddenly became aware that the Pokemon Center had gone relatively quiet, and that a lot of people were staring at the scene. Gritting his teeth, he turned on his heel and walked to the exit, but the guy called after him, “What you encountered was probably a splinter group anyway! There’s always extremists in organizations looking to do good!” 

  
  


Seeing red, Hilbert whirled around. “My _ass_ it was a splinter group!” he roared, then stomped out of the building. Mood now sufficiently fouled, he made his way to the Skyarrow Bridge. Crossing it was far more boring going west-to-east, mainly because there was no Castelia skyline to greet him. By now, the strap of his bag digging into his shoulder was becoming actually painful, and his gait was slow and awkward. More than one person on the bridge gave him a strange look due to the way he was walking, leaning slightly to one side. He took a quick break on Route ‘3.5’ to eat one of his LMT’s, then continued on. 

  
  


It was approaching one-thirty in the afternoon by the time he finally entered Nacrene again. Ten minutes later, he stumbled into the museum, all but collapsing near the counter. 

  
  


“Oh!” the attendant cried, somewhat surprised at seeing the exhausted, panting boy before her. “It’s you again! Been a while, hasn’t it?” 

  
  


Hilbert didn’t even dignify that with a reply. Rather, he simply yanked the Plume Fossil out of his bag and put it on the counter. “Revive… this… now…” he panted, not in the mood for pleasantries. 

  
  


The attendant’s eyes widened at the sight of the fossil, ignoring Hilbert’s rude tone. “Oh my, you actually got a fossil! Do you want me to revive it?” 

  
  


“I just… said… that…” Hilbert said. “So… get on it… because I’ve been lugging… this damn thing… around… for _days!”_

  
  


“Okay, okay, I will!” the attendant said. “No need to bite my head off. This is gonna take about ten minutes, so don’t go vanishing, got it?” 

  
  


“Whatever,” Hilbert said. Giving him a dirty look, the attendant gathered the Plume Fossil in her arms, and opened the door behind her, disappearing into what was presumably the fossil revival room. 

  
  


Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Hilbert switched his bag’s strap to his other shoulder. “Oh fuck, sweet relief…” he muttered, then made his way to the back of the museum, to the stairs leading to the Gym, and sat down to rest. He took his hat off and ran his hand through his sweaty hair. “At least I don’t have to deal with all that damn weight on the way back…” 

  
  


True to her word, the attendant came out ten minutes later, calling him over. “You’ll be pleased to hear the revival was a complete success!” she said cheerfully, placing a Poke Ball down on the counter. “This is an Archen. It’s a female. Take good care of it!” 

  
  


“Don’t worry, I will,” Hilbert said, grabbing the Poke Ball and walking outside. He quickly selected Juniper’s number on the Cross-Transceiver and called her. The Unovan Pokemon Professor was quick to answer. 

  
  


“Yes, Hilbert? What is it?” she said as she saw his face on the screen. 

  
  


“It’s done. I got your damn fossil Pokemon,” Hilbert said. 

  
  


“I already know,” Juniper replied. “The Pokedex data was sent to me as soon as the fossil was revived. Not a bad choice, Archen. While it’s nowhere close to making up for Victini, you did do what I asked, at least. Your license is safe… for now.” She gave an obviously-fake smile coated in false kindness, like an offered drink that actually contained poison. The implication behind the smile was readily apparent. It said, “Lose me a rare Pokemon again, and I’ll twist your head off your body.” 

  
  


With a growl, Hilbert shut off the Cross-Transceiver, terminating the call. _It wouldn’t be too bad of an idea to look in the Pokedex to see what moves this thing has,_ he thought, pulling out the device and scrolling down to Archen’s entry. Ignoring the text blurb for the Rock/Flying-type, he swiped over to its moves and stats page, and his eyes widened. 

  
  


“H-holy _crap!_ ” he breathed. “Base 70 speed? 74 special attack? _112_ attack!? This thing’s a monster! I’ve hit the jackpot! What’s its ability?” He swiped over to that tab, and his eyes again widened, but this time in dismayed shock. “Wait… Defeatist!? ‘Lowers stats when HP is half or less’... you’ve gotta be kidding me!” 

  
  


He stood there for a few solid minutes, considering whether to even keep the fossil Pokemon. He ran a hand over his face. _I know this falls completely into the sunk cost fallacy… but I might as well,_ he thought. Taking the Archen’s Poke Ball off his belt, he said to it, “I think I’ll call you Artemis,” before putting it back. 

  
  


The last pieces of information that he cared about from the Pokedex were Artemis’s current moveset and level. It was level 25, putting it ahead of anything on his team at the moment, and it knew Pluck, AncientPower, Agility, and Quick Guard. 

  
  


With his sixth and final team member acquired, he took a swig of water, then began to make his way back to the Skyarrow Bridge. It took about half an hour to get back to Castelia, but he noted when crossing the bridge that the sense of overwhelming scale one got from looking at the skyline in the distance still had not gone away. He caught a cab to take him up to Route 4, but only rode it about three-quarters of the way there, not wanting to spend too much money. He quickly stopped in at yet another pizza place to grab a bite, eating it on the go, wanting to get out of Castelia before the crazy busyness of rush hour. 

  
  


Walking for another good half hour, he made it with plenty of time to spare, trekking through the endless sand of Route 4. The sun was about to set as he once more came to the lonely construction site, and against his better judgment, sought shelter in one of the buildings, this time choosing a building on the left away from where he had encountered the group of ruffians. He went all the way up to the fourth floor this time, only one floor away from the abrupt, unplanned ‘roof’ of the structure. 

  
  


Apart from a few barrels and long planks of wood scattered around, there was nothing out of the ordinary, nor did anyone else appear to be on the floor. However, as he gave it a once-over, the sunlight glinted off something on the concrete. “Huh? What could that be?” he muttered aloud, moving over to it. Picking it up, he found it was the jewel case for a T M. Though the QR code was a bit worn, he was still able to scan it, and it turned out to be T M39, Rock Tomb, a 50 base power move that was (obviously) Rock-type. Checking his Pokedex, he found that three of his Pokemon could learn it: Archen, Drilbur, and Darumaka. 

  
  


“Well, that sure is better for type coverage on Scrapper than Cut,” he said. “I’ll teach it to him in the morning. For now…” He pulled Maru’s Poke Ball off his belt and opened it. “Alright, Maru, you’re gonna be the watch for tonight. If you see or hear anything- and I mean _anything-_ out of the ordinary, wake me up, got it?” 

  
  


The Discipline Pokemon gave a firm nod, also keenly remembering the events of a few nights ago and not wanting to repeat them. 

  
  


Hilbert smiled at his starter. “I can always count on you, can’t I? We’ve still got some time before I need to go to sleep, so how about we watch the sunset for a bit, huh?” 

  
  


Maru made an excited chattering noise, and so for the next ten minutes, that was exactly what they did, sitting on the edge of the unfinished building watching the light fade on the vast desert to the west. 

  
  


“We’ve been through a lot, haven’t we?” Hilbert sighed, slowly running his hand down his starter’s back. The fur there tickled his skin. “And we still have so far to go…” Maru turned his head to look at his Trainer. Hilbert’s eyes hardened, even though Maru couldn’t see it. “But I’m not gonna give up on you if you don’t give up on me. And the next time we run into Team Plasma, and something tells me we will, we’ll rip their damn heads off.” 

  
  


With the last of the daylight fading, Hilbert decided to turn in for the night. Using his bag for a pillow, he lay down on the concrete floor, and closed his eyes. Surprisingly, nothing bad happened that night, and the sunlight flooding into the unfinished structure roused Hilbert from his sleep the next day. He saw Maru still diligently keeping watch, a little tired but no worse for wear, and returned him to his Poke Ball. 

  
  


After eating one of his meal packs for breakfast, he made his way down the stairs, and found the remains of a fire not ten feet away from the entrance. Reaching down to feel the ashes, he found they were still warm. “Probably another gang,” he muttered. “Damn, that was lucky. I guess Maru didn’t see this because of how deep inside the building we were. Either way, I’m not stickin’ around for these bastards to come back. Time to clear out.” 

  
  


He rocked back on his heels, beginning not just a run, but a full-on sprint, putting some distance between him and the construction site. Once he felt he was safe, he slowed to a light jog, then back to a walk. He made good time getting to Nimbasa, arriving at the city’s Gate by noon according to his watch. He went through it, and for the second time (and he would argue, his first _real_ time) he entered into Nimbasa City. 

  
  


Nimbasa, unlike the half-circle shaped Castelia, was a long and relatively narrow rectangle. The city was one of entertainment and leisure, in contrast to Castelia’s business-centric approach, with an amusement park, sports stadiums, casinos, and even strip clubs. The Pokemon Center, luckily, was located only a few blocks away from the Gate, nestled between two apartment complexes to the west. Having just gone through another gruelling desert trek, he just wanted to take a shower and then have a nap. He checked into a room, then went up to it, and after a well-deserved shower, put on his jeans and t-shirt, lay down on the bed, and was out within minutes. 

  
  


It was around two hours later when the ringing of his Cross-Transceiver awoke him. Checking the time on his watch, he groaned. “Damn, I overslept,” he muttered. “Should have set an alarm…” Bringing his Cross-Transceiver up to his face, he saw it was Bianca’s number. _What could she want?_

  
  


He pressed the button, and Bianca’s face appeared on the screen. “Hi, Hilbert!” she said cheerfully. “Hopefully I’m not calling at a bad time again…” 

  
  


“Nope, I’m actually decent this time,” Hilbert said. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up. “Was just taking a nap. What is it?” 

  
  


“Would you like to see a play with me tonight? There’s this big theater in this city, and I was gonna invite Cheren, but he won’t answer his Cross-Transceiver, soooo… wanna come?” Bianca’s eyes almost seemed pleading. 

  
  


“Alright, alright, fine,” Hilbert said, rubbing his temples, briefly making Bianca’s view go haywire. “What time is it at?” 

  
  


“It starts around nine, so I’d say be at the theatre by at least eight forty-five,” Bianca replied. Then she sighed in relief. “Good thing you said yes. I’d already bought the tickets before I called Cheren. If you said no or didn’t respond, I don’t know what I would have done if you said no. I didn’t wanna go alone, is all…” 

  
  


“I get it already!” Hilbert snapped. “I’ll be there at eight forty-five, don’t worry!” Before Bianca could utter another word, he shut off the device, terminating the connection. He sighed, but unlike Bianca’s, his was one of annoyance. “Geez… talk about being needy. Might as well get some more sleep, though.” 

  
  


Setting an alarm for around seven on his watch, he lay back down, and closed his eyes again. Once the time came, he woke up, put on his jacket, checked out of the room, and went to find a restaurant to have dinner at, both because he didn’t want to use his last meal pack yet and because he had some time to kill. 

  
  


As the sun had now set, Nimbasa’s nightlife had truly gotten going, with the city having transformed into a completely different place. Neon signs cut through the darkness, illuminating the city in dozens of bright colours, while spotlights placed near the Musical Theater, Big Stadium, and Small Court shone into the sky. Even the crosswalks weren’t lines painted on the street, but big light strips under panes of glass that changed colour from red to green to indicate when it was time for people to walk and cars to go. Off to the east, the huge ferris wheel known as the Rondez-View turned in its never-ending circle, lit up with garish red and blue bulbs on the outside of the cars that were made to look like Poke Balls. 

  
  


_Man, how the hell does anyone get to sleep in this city?_ Hilbert thought as he walked along the sidewalk with dozens of others past lit up sign after lit up sign. Luckily, finding a place to grab some food on the cheap wasn’t too hard, and he stopped in at a little hole-in-the-wall diner nestled between a few shops. The food actually turned out to be excellent, prompting him to devour the meal in record time. _They probably literally can’t afford to serve anything but good stuff here,_ he thought. _I can’t imagine rent in Nimbasa is cheap._

  
  


His belly full, and with the time approaching eight-thirty, he caught a cab to the Musical Theater, a rather garish building with a giant purple musical note decoration above the doors. “Hilbert! I’m over here!” he heard Bianca’s voice cry. Spotting her loitering near the doors, he ran over to her, having to duck and weave through the crowd. 

  
  


“Glad you made it!” she said giddily when he got to her. “Here’s your ticket! What time is it now?” 

  
  


Hilbert took the small slip of paper from her, then checked his watch. “It’s only eight-forty, don’t worry. We’ve got plenty of time. What’s this play called, anyway? I forgot to ask you when you called.” 

  
  


“Oh, it’s called “The Tale of the Scorch War”,” Bianca said. “Ever since I heard what Ghetsis said in Castelia, I’ve been wondering about Unova’s ancient history a bit more, and this just lined up perfectly with that! I know Cheren would’ve enjoyed it more than you, but…” 

  
  


Though Bianca was talking, Hilbert was deaf to everything she said after the play’s title. It was as if the world had gone into silent slow motion as he looked down at his ticket. Sure enough, there was the title of the play printed on it in black letters- ‘The Tale of the Scorch War’. 

  
  


_First Ghetsis talking about this in Castelia, then getting stuck in the Relic Castle overnight, and now this play. Why is Unova’s history following me around all of a sudden?_ A strange, inexplicable feeling of dread started to grow in his stomach, like a rope being twisted tightly. _What does this all mean? I’m probably just going nuts, but I can’t help but feel there’s something more to this._

  
  


He was broken out of his trance by Bianca calling his name as she went into the theater. Evidently, she had moved on without him. “Shit!” he cried, racing after her to not lose her in the crowd. Said crowd was mostly middle age men and women, all of whom, he noted, looked well-dressed. _Arceus, me and Bianca are so outta place and under-dressed for this._ He had his ticket scanned by the person just inside the doors, then went into the building. 

  
  


The interior of the Musical Theater was far more tastefully decorated than its exterior, with blood-red carpet with a black diamond pattern adorning the floor, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The room was ovoid, with a mezzanine balcony, similar to the ones found in Pokemon Centers, hanging over it, going around its circumference. The way to get up to the balcony were two short staircases, one leading up to the left and the other to the right, making no difference which one was picked. Above this was a beautifully painted mural depicting some of the deities of Sinnoh, Dialga and Palkia. 

  
  


Seeing Bianca up on the balcony, leaning over the marble railing and waving to him, Hilbert quickly made his way up to her, and together they went into the amphitheater and found their seats. They were on a large balcony with dozens of other seats facing the stage, high above it. _Not gonna be able to get a very good view of the performance from here,_ Hilbert thought, sighing. _And I doubt those little binoculars-on-sticks are a thing anymore._

  
  


The next ten minutes passed by uneventfully, save for Bianca’s anticipatory fidgeting in her seat and the occasional sound of an instrument from the orchestra in the pit making some last-second adjustments and fine-tunings. Then, the lights dimmed, and the yellow curtain that covered much of the stage raised, revealing it to be bigger than it first appeared, and on a screen behind the stage, white text appeared as a mandolin in the orchestra played a few reverent-sounding notes.

  
  


_This is but one of the legends of which the Unovan people speak…_ the text read. A flute then began to play, as the image on the screen changed, depicting a stylized artist’s rendition of a marketplace scene from the ancient Unovan kingdom. _Long ago, there existed a kingdom where two heroes ruled with the aid of a divine dragon,_ the text, now at the bottom of the screen, read. 

  
  


The camera then panned across the scene, with new text fading in. _It was a prosperous land blessed with lush forests, clear lakes, and peace. But one day the heroes began to quarrel and fight over the best way to lead the people._ The flute then took on a decidedly more mournful tone, with the occasional plucking of the mandolin’s strings. The image also changed to show two armoured figures, one in black, the other in white, clashing swords with each other. _The elder of the brother heroes sought Truth, the younger, Ideals. These arguments grew heated, escalating into shouting matches, then physical fights. Eventually, they each gathered their forces, and battle lines were drawn, beginning a bloody conflict that would forever alter the history and fate of the land…_

  
  


The screen then went black once more as the flute finished playing. The clanking of metal was then heard as the actors playing the heroes came onstage from opposite sides. They were dressed in full plate armour, identical to the image that had been on the screen seconds before- one was in shining silver-white armour, the other’s was black as the night sky. The screen also changed to the silhouette of what could be assumed to be an artist’s rendering of the original Unovan dragon, its upper half black and lower half white, with the rest of the screen around it being opposite. 

  
  


“It has been a remarkable few decades, hasn’t it, brother? Ever since we united the warring tribes of this land under us,” the figure in the silver-white armour asked his ebony-armoured counterpart. 

  
  


“Indeed,” the black knight replied. “But… I cannot help but feel we did so using too violent a method. I am afraid we are only revered out of terror. Surely there must have been a more ideal way to have gone about it.” 

  
  


“Sometimes, harsh things must be done so better things can come of it. That is a fundamental truth of life. It cannot be changed.” 

  
  


“But-“ 

  
  


“There are no ‘buts’, brother, nor should there be regrets,” the white-armoured knight said firmly, putting his arm around his brother’s shoulder. “Just think of all we’ve accomplished along with the power of the dragon!” 

  
  


The orchestra picked up again, and the actors broke into song, detailing the society of the kingdom and what they had done to create it. Throughout it all, though, everyone in the audience couldn’t help but notice that the ebony-armoured hero sounded more uncertain than his white-armoured counterpart. Props representing the sandstone pillars of the Relic Castle in its prime were stealthily wheeled onstage by stagehands even as the background and lighting shifted to reflect this change in environment. 

  
  


The real highlight moment came when the heroes, now in a full-on screaming match portrayed through the lyrics, called on representatives from each of the noble houses, and one by one, they appeared onstage. All in all, there were five of them, each bearing a flag with a distinct feature of a Pokemon stitched onto it: for House Lyndar, the tusk of a Haxorus, for House Raeshin, a Darmanitan’s clenched, flaming fist, for House Talius, the arm of a Fighting-type called Mienshao, for House Mathias, a Braviary’s wing, and lastly, for House Harmonia, a Bisharp’s bladed helm. 

  
  


_Wait… didn’t Ashley say that all the houses except Lyndar were wiped out and that we don’t know their names?_ Hilbert thought. _Unless the playwrights of this just made up the names…_

  
  


Regardless of the thoughts of the boy, the song concluded with the heroes declaring war on each other, and forcing the houses to choose sides. House Lyndar chose to remain neutral, and as such was shunned by the others, its flag-bearer disappearing off the stage to represent the house going into exile away from the kingdom. 

  
  


The pillars were once more wheeled offstage as the back screen changed to show the silhouette of the original Unovan dragon, and this time, it was animated, thrashing about side to side like it was being pulled by ropes from opposing directions. “It cannot be!” one of the flag-bearers cried as the dragon literally split in two, forming into spheres that quickly morphed into two new beings, which like their progenitor, were only shown as silhouettes. One was a white silhouette on a black background, the other a black silhouette on a white background. 

  
  


The two new dragons then moved to opposite sides of the screen, siding with the heroes of their respective color. “It seems even the dragon has made its choice,” the Hero of Ideals said to his brother. “Houses, decide who you will stand with!” 

  
  


The flag-bearers from House Raeshin and Mathias immediately made their way over to him, with House Talius going over to the Hero of Truth. Only House Harmonia was left, with its flag-bearer seeming hesitant, looking at both sides, before ultimately going over to the Hero of Truth. 

  
  


“The battle lines have been drawn, _brother,”_ the Hero of Truth said venomously to his sibling. “And whoever wins this conflict will decide the future of our land.” 

  
  


With that line, act 1 of the play was concluded, with the actors all walking offstage and the screen going blank as the orchestra finished playing its last notes. Act 2 then began as the screen flared to life once more, this time with the showers of sparks from what looked like forges along with waterfalls of molten metal. Actors dressed like blacksmiths walked onto the stage, some wheeling faux anvils with them. 

  
  


“Come on, come on!” one of the blacksmiths cried. “We’ve got to get these weapons and armour out! Double time it!” 

  
  


“We’re going as fast as we can, damn it!” one of the other blacksmiths yelled, putting down his hammer briefly. “But the fires just aren’t hot enough! We’ve got to call on Volcarona! Get it to increase its power!” 

  
  


All of a sudden, there was a flash of light and smoke began to pour onto the stage. Out of the cloud stepped a woman clad in an elaborate costume that Hilbert assumed was based on the appearance of a Volcarona, having never seen one in person. It consisted of tight blue pants with blue dots on their legs, a black bodysuit with white fur along the top half, and six huge orange wings on her back. 

  
  


Without a word, the woman swept one of her arms out, and the screen responded in kind, flashing as the showers of sparks grew in intensity, the rivers of red-hot metal flowing faster and growing thicker. 

  
  


“Yes! It’s working!” the blacksmith yelled. “Thank you, O great Volcarona!”

  
  


With a nod, the woman disappeared into another cloud of smoke that came from seemingly nowhere. The smoke cloud grew to encompass the entire stage, and when it dissipated, the stage was clear, with the silhouettes of the dragons back on each side of the screen. In the middle between them was an image of a grassy field. 

  
  


The clopping of hooves was then heard, as each hero rode onstage on a chariot pulled by a Sawsbuck, flanked by the flag-bearers of the houses that had sided with them, as well as a small group of about twenty extras each, obviously meant to represent their armies. Both of them were armed with fake spears, though they did glint like they were made of real metal, and each had a fake sword sheathed at their waist. 

  
  


Sawsbuck was a quadruped Grass/Normal-type Pokemon that resembled a deer. It was mostly brown, with curved orange markings near its eyes, and a cream underbelly and hooves. It had pink spots along its back, with a short tail and a tuft of cream fur on its chest, but most striking, it literally was growing flowers out of its antlers. More than that, the antlers actually resembled tree branches more than anything. 

  
  


“So, it has come to this, brother,” the white-armoured hero said. 

  
  


“Indeed, it has,” his ebony-armoured counterpart replied. “You have proven yourself to be unbending in your way of thinking, so this is all we can do.” 

  
  


“Much as this is not ideal…” 

  
  


“Yes, but it is the harsh truth. A truth you refuse to acknowledge. Now, have at you!” 

  
  


The orchestra picked up as both sides charged at each other, and as they did ‘battle’, someone in the orchestra itself began the next song, describing the war even as the dragons on the screen took the form of black and white spheres and clashed against each other over and over again. Eventually, these spheres changed color, becoming orange and blue, and grew bigger, sparks flying from them as they clashed, and soon a blinding flash of white light, combined with strobe lights on the stage itself, covered everything. 

  
  


When it was over, the stage was clear once more, and the grassland on the screen was replaced by a vast desert, wisps of smoke still emanating from the ground. 

  
  


The orchestra then started playing a rather more somber tune, made up mostly of soft choir and drums punctuated by the occasional plucking of an acoustic guitar. The final song of the play involved just a single actor, wearing a costume that was made to look burned, along with makeup made to resemble soot stains or burns on their face. They sang, their voice laced with wistful nostalgia, about the kingdom and people that had been lost, literally turned to dust, and how they wished for someone- _anyone-_ to guide them out of the hopelessness of the situation and into a new day. 

  
  


Then, answering his prayers, a new character walked onstage. He appeared younger than the burned man, maybe in his late teens. He wore a simple wite tunic, over which was a silver breastplate. “The son of the Hero of Truth!” the burned man exclaimed in relieved shock, kneeling before his liege. 

  
  


“I can guide the remaining people and Pokemon of this land into a new dawn… if you will let me,” the young man said. “Together, we can rebuild.” 

  
  


“Of course,” the burned man replied. The screen then showed a Flying-type’s eye view of the entire region as it currently was, as text appeared at the bottom. _And so, the son of the Hero of Truth, having survived the war, led the people of Unova into a new age, the one we still enjoy today. However, the scar on the land caused by the war would remain for all time, and would never heal…_

  
  


The curtain then came down for a few seconds, and when it went back up, the entire cast was onstage, and took their respective bows as the audience applauded. However, Hilbert wasn’t among them, even though Bianca was, as he was lost in thought. 

  
  


_Was all that really true? Did the son of the Hero of Truth really exist, or was he just a made-up character for this? Ah, why do I suddenly care about this so much!? Just because Unovan history’s taking an interest in me doesn’t mean I’m gonna take an interest in it!_

  
  


With the applause starting to die down, Hilbert and Bianca got up along with several dozen others as the curtain closed, making their way out of the theater. 

  
  


“Man, I had no idea Unova’s history was so eventful!” Bianca said, looking idly up at the sky as the crowd dispersed around them. “By the way, what time is it?” 

  
  


Hilbert checked his watch. “It’s just after eleven. Damn, it’s late… I gotta get back to the Pokemon Center for some shut-eye.” 

  
  


Just as Hilbert was about to begin his walk back to the Pokemon Center (not wanting to spend any more of his dwindling money supply on taxi rides) a voice yelled out, “Bianca!” 

  
  


Recognizing the voice, Bianca turned her head to the south to see a man making his way towards her, and her face went white. “Oh no…” 

  
  


Hilbert looked where she was looking, and saw none other than her father, Patrick Kinway, running towards them, full-on shouldering past anyone that got in his way, causing a stream of angry curses and dirty looks to be thrown at him, though he ignored everything. Before long, he made it to the two teens, Bianca looking positively terrified to see him. 

  
  


“Bianca, thank goodness I’ve found you,” he said, catching his breath. He then straightened, taking an authoritative posture. “Bianca, you’ve gone far enough. It’s time to come back home with me.” 

  
  


“What!?” Bianca cried. “Why? After I’ve been gone for what, almost a month now? After everything I’ve been through so far?” 

  
  


“‘Everything you’ve been through’ is exactly why you _have_ to come back to Nuvema with me this instant!” Patrick yelled. He then sighed. “Three days ago, there was a sandstorm in the Desert Resort. Your mother was beside herself with worry, even _more_ so when it was reported that there were fatalities due to it- in the double-digits, in fact!” 

  
  


“But I _wasn’t_ caught in the sandstorm!” Bianca cried. “Doesn’t that count for anything?” 

  
  


“Yeah, _you_ weren’t, but I nearly was,” Hilbert interjected, speaking up suddenly. At Patrick’s horrified look, he elaborated. “It was just after I found a fossil in the Relic Castle,” he said, purposely leaving out _why_ he was searching for said fossil, “I had to run for my life back to it, and it was almost on top of me by the time I made it. Had to spend a night trapped inside with a few other people, and I didn’t have any food, either. The sandstorm lifted by the morning, but the point is, I got damn lucky. If I had been any farther away from the Relic Castle when it hit, or if it lasted longer than that… I don’t think I’d be standing here right now. Which is probably why you should go with him, Bianca. This isn’t a game and this isn’t a joke, plus I’ve got a feeling it’s only gonna get worse.” 

  
  


Bianca looked shattered. Tears were welling up in her eyes, as the realization that one of her closest friends had essentially betrayed her sank in. “Hilbert… _please…”_ she whimpered, looking desperately at him. “Don’t do this… don’t take his side…” 

  
  


“Well, it’s good to see you’ve come to your senses,” Patrick said to Hilbert before turning back to his daughter. “Like I said before you went gallivanting out on this ridiculous quest, do you have _any idea_ what you dying would do to your mother and I? How selfish it was to just _run away_ like you did?” 

  
  


Feeling her chances at convincing her father to let her continue rapidly slipping away, Bianca dug through her purse and pulled out her Badge Case, opening it, the Gym Badges glinting in the neon signs of Nimbasa. “See? I’ve already won these Badges! That should be proof-“ 

  
  


“ _I don’t give half a damn about those!”_ Patrick roared, causing Bianca to cower and several people to look their way. “The fact is, _you could have died!_ You could have every Gym Badge in Unova- hell, you could have every Gym Badge in the whole damn _world-_ and it wouldn’t have made a lick of difference to that sandstorm! It would have killed you regardless!” 

  
  


Bianca said nothing, merely whimpering helplessly. The tears that had been welling up in her eyes were now flowing freely down her cheeks. Patrick sighed. “Come on, Bianca. It’s time to go.” He put his hand on her shoulder, starting to steer her away from the theater.

  
  


“No…” Bianca mewled, but found herself unable to fight back. “Dad, please… _please…_ She couldn’t believe it. Her journey, her one chance to make something of herself and find out what her place in the world was, was over. She looked back at Hilbert one last time, who just shook his head apathetically. Looking down, she closed her eyes, gritting her teeth and sniffling, feeling more tears roll their way down her cheeks as her father led her further away. 

  
  


Suddenly, there was the distinctive _clack, clack, clack_ noise of high heels hitting pavement in a rapid rhythm, coming closer. “What the hell is going on here?” a woman’s voice asked. 

  
  


Patrick, Hilbert, and several onlookers turned to the source of the voice, and Hilbert’s jaw dropped. _No way!_ Not ten feet away from them and gaining ground, was the famous Gym Leader of Nimbasa City, Elesa. 

  
  


The boy couldn’t help but feel blood rush to a very private place and the primal, pubescent side of his brain started to take hold as he stared at her like an idiot. He had seen pictures of her online, but in person Elesa was-! She wore black tights over her legs- slim, shapely legs that seemed to go on for miles, and sharp, yellow stilettos were her footwear of choice, making her seem taller than she really was. She wore a barely-there yellow tank top with striped sections cut out of its black center, revealing the skin of her flat, toned stomach. Overtop her blonde hair was a pair of headphones, with two wires sticking out of them, looking like absurdly long pigtails going down almost to her ankles. In a word, she was _hot._

  
  


Bianca’s father, being a married man loyal to his wife, was not as easily distracted by Elesa’s looks as the now nearly-drooling Hilbert. “What’s going on is none of your business. Come on, Bianca. Let’s go.” He continued pushing his daughter along, but she planted her heels, refusing to move, seeing a ray of hope in the form of Elesa, and she was going to grab it and never let go. 

  
  


Elesa’s eyes flashed with anger. “Oh, is that so? Well, it just so happens that what happens in this city and to the people in it is _always_ my business, and as it just so happens, I don’t take too kindly to being brushed off.” 

  
  


With speed befitting her title as an Electric-type Gym Leader, she whipped out a Poke Ball, throwing it past Patrick and Bianca, where it opened to reveal a quadruped Pokemon. “Now you better tell me what’s going on, or I’ll have Zebstrika here Double Kick you outta town.” 

  
  


Zebstrika was a black-and-white Pokemon that resembled a zebra. Its body was black, with white, jagged stripes that looked like cartoonish thunderbolts all over its body, though they were most predominant on its chest and neck. Its legs had white stripes on them, and the inside of its ears, along with its eyes, were an arresting blue. A white, spiked mane ran down the length of its back, with the end of its tail taking the shape of a lit sparkler. 

  
  


Patrick did not back down to Elesa’s intimidation tactics. “I’m not looking for a fight here. I just want to protect my daughter from herself. But if you want to try and stop me, a battle is what I’ll happily give you.” 

  
  


He pulled a Poke Ball out of his pocket, and threw it. “Go, Unfezant!” he yelled. 

  
  


What emerged from the Ball was an avian Pokemon that resembled a game-bird. It had a pinkish-red wattle around its eyes, looking like the mask of a superhero of some kind. Long growths that looked like ribbons extended out of these, going down past its shoulders. Its lower body was mint green, while its upper body was black. Its tail, along with its wings, were also black and grey. 

  
  


Elesa just laughed. “A Normal/Flying-type? Against an Electric-type? Are you dumb? Zebstrika, use Thunderbolt and take it out quick!” 

  
  


Patrick just growled, not willing to back down. “Unfezant, U-Turn!” 

  
  


What followed was nothing to write home about. As Unfezant gathered green energy around it, lunging toward its opponent, Zebstrika shot a bolt of electricity from its body, which lanced along the ground and struck the Proud Pokemon dead-on, knocking it out with that one attack. 

  
  


Patrick grimaced, recalling his Unfezant while Elesa smiled. She turned to address the people that had gathered to watch the drama unfold. “And _that_ is why you don’t pick a fight with both the city’s top model, and its Gym Leader: Elesa! Now I’ll ask again, and I want a straight answer this time: What is going on? Why was this man trying to lead you away, sweetheart?” 

  
  


Bianca sniffled. “He-he’s my father, so he wasn’t t-trying to kidnap me or an-anything. “What he _was_ trying to do was… was get me to stop journeying!” She burst into tears again. “And… when I turned to one of… one of my so-called _friends_ for help,” the sentence was said with a murderous glare towards Hilbert, “He threw me under the bus!”

  
  


Bianca’s father’s face was turning red with anger. “The only reason I wanted to take you back to Nuvema is for your own safety! You could have been killed if you got caught in it!” 

  
  


“ _I couldn’t care less at this point!”_ Bianca screamed back at him. “First of all, I wasn’t anywhere near the Desert Resort when the sandstorm hit! And even if I was… at least… at least I’d die knowing I tried to do something with my life instead of being stuck in Nuvema watching the world pass me by!” 

  
  


“H-how could you _say_ that?” Patrick said, beyond flabbergasted. “Do you even realize what you’re saying..?” 

  
  


“I do, and I don’t care!” Bianca yelled. “I’m sick of being coddled by you and Mom! It’s time for me to find my own place… by myself. Maybe I’m not the strongest Trainer, but who cares? I _will_ keep going, and _no one-_ not Hilbert, and not _you_ \- will change that.” 

  
  


His face twisted in pure wrath, Patrick finally exploded. “ _Fine!”_ he roared. “If you want to keep going, then by all damn means be my guest! Just think about the consequences of what might happen if you do.” 

  
  


With that, he healed his Unfezant, and took off on it, flying away. 

  
  


Elesa flicked her already short bangs to the side, recalling her Zebstrika. “Whew! I thought he’d never leave. I was gonna have Zebstrika zap him if he didn’t.” 

  
  


“Thank you, Elesa,” Bianca said. “If you hadn’t intervened… I might have had to give up here.” 

  
  


“Think nothing of it,” Elesa said. “He did have a bit of a point, I won’t lie, but while the world’s a dangerous place and travelling it ill-equipped is bad, keeping someone from finding their place in it and reaching their full potential is worse. But Pokemon journeys aren’t easy things, so if you’re looking for a challenge, come to my Pokemon Gym at some point. I’ll give you a battle that’ll make your head spin.” 

  
  


Bianca nodded as Elesa walked away, the woman sneering at Hilbert as she passed him. Suddenly, Bianca marched right up to him. “ _You!”_ she yelled. “What was that!? Why didn’t you take my side!? I thought we were _friends!”_

  
  


“I took your father’s side because I’ve seen, and experienced, the dark side of these journeys _first fucking hand_ multiple times by now!” Hilbert yelled back, his characteristic anger rearing its head. “You don’t even wanna _know_ what I’ve been through! We’ve got a terrorist organization on our asses, or have you forgotten about that!?” 

  
  


“ _I can handle myself,”_ Bianca hissed. “And I swear, next time we battle, I’ll show you how strong I am, you _asshole.”_

  
  


_That_ caught Hilbert off guard. Bianca rarely swore, except when pushed over the edge. He could count on his fingers the number of times he had personally heard her swear. The shock, however, quickly wore off, and was replaced by more anger.

  
  


“Oh, give me a fucking _break!”_ he yelled. “You didn’t even want to go to this play without someone by your side, did you!? Admit it, Bianca- you’re not cut out for this, and you never were.” He turned around and started walking away. “Sorry I gave a fuck about your well-being.” 


	23. Chapter 21: Crushing Defeat

**Long Way to Fall**

  
  


**By: Rylek196**

  
  


**Chapter 21: Crushing Defeat**

  
  


‘“ **My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.’ -Oyzmandias, Percy Bysshe Shelly**

  
  


With his mood thoroughly soured, Hilbert stormed back to the Pokemon Center, going on foot. Though the city was alive with the sights and sounds of the night, his furious, heavy footsteps were the only noise he heard as he shouldered his way past other pedestrians. He got several dirty looks, but nothing other than that. Halfway to the Pokemon Center, on the way by a building called the Gear Station, he came to a horrifying realization, stopping in his tracks. _Wait… I could have had Bianca’s dad take me home to Nuvema! And I didn’t ask! DAMMIT!_

  
  


His hands immediately flew to his head, grasping at his hair and clutching it tightly. Anger was building in him, bubbling like a volcano ready to blow. He wanted to scream out in pure rage, but knew he couldn’t, lest he look weird in front of everyone. Instead, he stomped his foot hard on the ground, the impact giving him some satisfaction, but it wasn’t near enough to alleviate his wrath. 

  
  


Now filled with tenfold more anger, he slowed his pace, his movements now jerky, predatory, hyper-aware, and his breathing resembled some kind of savage beast. The thought of sleep was the only thing that made him keep putting one foot in front of the other. He had crossed the street to the small row of apartment buildings where the Pokemon Center was nestled, when he heard it. “HELP! SOMEBODY, HELP ME!” A man’s voice yelled, coming from the gap between two buildings. This was followed by a loud cry of pain. 

  
  


Hilbert’s head perked up, and he ran over to where he thought the noise was coming from, and saw something that finally made him blow his top. In the alley, were two Plasma grunts repeatedly kicking a man with brown hair in his thirties who was lying on his side. They then stopped, one of the grunts roughly grabbing the man by the arm and hauling him to his feet. “Had enough?” he sneered in at him. “You gonna come quietly, or do we have to knock you unconscious? Your choice.” 

  
  


To the man’s credit, he simply shook his head no.

“Feh, fair enough,” the other grunt shrugged. “You’re a stubborn one. Count yourself lucky- if you were anyone else, you’d be dead right now, but you’ll be more valuable to us alive as a hostage than as a corpse.” 

  
  


He reared back his fist, about to punch the man in the face hard, but stopped when he heard Hilbert yell, “ _Plasma!”_ He turned his head along with his compatriot, seeing the furious teen storming towards them, murder in his eyes. 

  
  


“Hey, isn’t that..?” he asked. 

  
  


“Yeah, that kid Lord N told us to bring to him?” his companion replied, grinning. “I think it is.” 

  
  


Their would-be hostage, taking advantage of their lapse in concentration, broke free of the grip of his assailant, running desperately towards Hilbert before he could be stopped. “Please… please help me,” he begged the boy. “They’re trying to kidnap me!” 

  
  


“Don’t worry, I’ve got your back,” Hilbert said with a dismissive wave of his arm. “These bastards will be dead before ya know it. Just stay behind me.” 

  
  


Feigning ignorance, one of the Plasma grunts (the only one who had any Poke Balls) just shrugged. “Now isn’t this hilarious? Little kid thinks he can take us on.” 

  
  


“ _Shut up!”_ Hilbert exploded. “I’m _sick_ of seeing you damn grunts everywhere I go! I’ll kill you! Do you hear me!? I’ll rip your fucking _heads off!”_

  
  


“I’d like to see you try, brat!” the grunt cried, enlarging the Poke Ball in his hand and throwing it, revealing a Watchog. 

  
  


Hilbert gave a bloodthirsty grin. _Oh, this is gonna be all too easy._ He grabbed the Great Ball containing his Sawk off his belt and enlarged it. “Go, Sensei!” he yelled, satisfied at seeing the grunt’s face pale slightly when he saw what a disadvantage he was at. 

  
  


Still though, the grunt was not ready to go down without a fight. “Watchog, Hypnosis!” 

  
  


The Watchog locked its hideous red eyes onto Sensei’s, almost seeming to stare into his soul. A yellow beam then shot out of Watchog’s pupils, connecting with its opponent’s eyes. A sudden, inexplicable fatigue overtook the Karate Pokemon, and his eyes closed. 

  
  


“What!?” Hilbert cried in shock. 

  
  


“Hah!” the grunt yelled triumphantly. “He’s asleep! Now attack him while he’s down, Watchog! No mercy!” 

  
  


Opening its jaws, the Watchog lunged for Sensei, chomping down with its incisors on Sensei’s right shoulder in a Crunch attack. Much to Hilbert’s horror, the attack didn’t wake up his Pokemon. “Uh… Sensei?” he cried. “Get up! Wake up, now!” 

  
  


Sensei did not wake up then. Instead, the Watchog bit down on the Karate Pokemon’s _neck_ , then his left shoulder, then his left arm. Eventually, though the attacks weren’t very effective, Sensei collapsed under the sheer number of them, his karate gi covered in black bite marks- rendered unconscious by a thousand cuts.

  
  


The Watchog then turned its bloodthirsty gaze towards Hilbert, the man letting out a whimper of fear as the boy felt drops of sweat run down his temples. Without needing a command, the Lookout Pokemon ran for them, its maw opened wide. Without thinking, Hilbert’s hand whipped down to his belt in a blur of motion, grabbed Maru’s Poke Ball, and he threw it, yelling, “Maru, get out there! Razor Shell!” 

  
  


Maru appeared as the Ball opened, slashing the Watchog in the stomach with his seashells, halting its rapid advance so suddenly that it fell flat on its face. Eager to avenge his fainted comrade, Maru then kept slashing at the Watchog until it stopped moving and was rendered unconscious. Hilbert’s Pokedex dinged as Maru gained a level, but he ignored it and focused on the battle at hand. He also took the opportunity to get Sensei to safety by recalling him. 

  
  


The Plasma grunt wasn’t about to give up. He recalled his fainted Watchog and threw out his second Pokemon. To Hilbert’s consternation, it was a Trubbish, and it immediately began giving off its horrible smell due to its Stench ability. 

  
  


“Ugh! Fuck! Not another one of those things!” Hilbert yelled, covering his nose. “Maru, Water Gun! Take it out quick!” 

  
  


Maru, doing like his Trainer and pinching his nose to avoid Trubbish’s smell, shot his trademark high-pressure water stream from his mouth. It hit the Trash Bag Pokemon dead-on, drenching it. Maru then ran forward, readying his seashells to slash, only for the Trubbish to shuffle out of the way with greater speed than he expected. Trubbish then shot a stream of corrosive liquid out of his mouth in the form of an Acid Spray attack, hitting Maru in the chest. The Discipline Pokemon cried out and stumbled back as steam rose from his body, the liquid literally dissolving his health away. This moment of vulnerability was all the time Trubbish needed to unleash a powerful Sludge attack, belching up a lump of toxic, dark purple poison that sent Maru flying back the moment it hit. 

  
  


He groaned as he got to his feet, but luckily wasn’t poisoned. “Maru, finish it off, fast!” Hilbert yelled. “Focus Energy, then Razor Shell!” 

  
  


Maru closed his eyes, the yellow energy pillars surrounding him for a few seconds, then they shot into the sky. He dashed towards his opponent, this time landing the Razor Shell which also resulted in a critical hit, knocking out the Trubbish. 

  
  


With gritted teeth, the Plasma grunt recalled his last Pokemon. “Maru,” Hilbert growled slowly. “I think we owe these bastards some pain, don’t we? On my command, cut them on the legs so they can’t run, then _skin ‘em alive!”_

  
  


Even the grunts were momentarily shocked by the boy’s outburst, one giving the other a, “let’s get the hell outta here” look. They could both tell by the vengeful hatred in Hilbert’s voice that he was not playing around. Without a word, they quickly reached into hidden pockets on their tunics and yanked out a Smoke Ball each. 

  
  


“Now!” Hilbert yelled. Maru jumped into the air to slash just as the Smoke Balls were thrown down, releasing a thick cloud of acrid smoke that filled the entire alley. Hilbert and the man immediately were seized by coughing fits, and Hilbert was knocked off his feet by one of the grunts harshly shoving him to the ground. He then got the wind knocked out of him with a cruel stomp on the stomach. 

  
  


“Come on!” one of the grunts yelled. “We gotta get to the amusement park! Now!” 

  
  


Hilbert then heard the sound of heavy boots slapping against pavement as the grunts ran away, heading east towards the park. Seconds later, the smoke cleared. _Dammit…_ was all he could think. 

  
  


The man he had saved, after ceasing his coughing, peeled himself off the wall he was leaning against and offered a hand to Hilbert. The boy accepted, and was pulled to his feet. “Man, that was some nasty shit right there…” the man said, swallowing. “You okay?” 

  
  


“I’m fine,” Hilbert groaned. “Probably gonna bruise a bit though… What did they want you for, anyway?” 

  
  


“I’m one of the owners of the breeding facility on Route 3, just outside Striaton, along with my wife,” the man replied. “They were planning on taking me hostage so they could ransom me in exchange for the facility to stop its operations, and to say the least, that would have been _catastrophic._ The facility I run breeds all of Unova’s starter Pokemon, so you can imagine the damage that might have caused had you not intervened.” 

  
  


“Plasma _bastards,”_ Hilbert growled. “I’m going after them.” 

  
  


He started to walk quickly out of the alley, only for the man to say, “W-wait! At least let me give you something that can get you to the amusement park faster!” He pulled a pair of keys out of his pocket and tossed them to the boy, who caught them in his hands. “Those are the keys to my bike. It’s locked up just outside the Pokemon Center. It’s the one secured with the yellow-and-black U-lock, you can’t miss it.” 

  
  


“Thanks,” Hilbert said. “Take care of yourself.” 

  
  


“Just one more question. Just then… w-were you really gonna have your Dewott kill those two?” 

  
  


Hilbert looked over his shoulder. “Yeah, I was,” he answered firmly. “And I still will when I catch up to them. That whole organization owes me some suffering.” 

  
  


With that, he exited the alley, going to the Pokemon Center, the bike lock’s key stored safely in his pocket. He forewent healing at the Center, instead using three of the five Super Potions in his bag to bring Sensei and Maru back up to fighting shape, as time was of the essence. He also took the Amulet Coin off Maru and replaced it with the Mystic Water once more. Spying a row of bikes locked in a rack outside a building south from the Pokemon Center, he crossed the street, and looked for a yellow-and-black U-lock among the bikes on the rack.

  
  


Much to his relief, he was able to find the bike in question easily. It was blue, with silver accents and two bars sticking out of the bolts that kept the rear wheels attached. _This looks like a stunt bike,_ Hilbert thought. _Doesn’t look cheap, either. I really gotta thank that guy if I ever get the chance._

  
  


To go along with the bike’s probable price tag, was the appropriately big lock securing it. It was huge, with a thick black shackle and an even beefier yellow pipe at the bottom. Before unlocking the bike, Hilbert decided to check what new move Maru had learned at long last.

  
  


He grinned as soon as he saw what it was. “Bingo.” 

  
  


It was Water Pulse, a 60 base power Water-type move that even carried a small chance of confusing the opponent when it hit, making it superior to Water Gun in every way. He allowed Maru to learn it in the blink of an eye. He then unlocked the bike and put the lock in his bag. The lock was as heavy as its looks implied, but it was still nowhere close in weight to the Plume Fossil he was forced to lug around just days earlier. He then got on his new bike and took off towards the amusement park. 

  
  


He passed by a building called the Gear Station in the middle of the city on his west-to-east dash through Nimbasa, every red light forcing him to stop at a crosswalk driving him nuts. Eventually, he made it, finding the entrance to the amusement park was a short, curved bridge over a man-made canal of sorts, though it was far too small to allow for boat passage. 

  
  


Luckily, he found a bike rack on the other side of the bridge, and was able to lock his bike up again. Standing up, he surveyed the area as best he could. Despite it being near midnight, the park was still hopping, with people going every which way, while the roar of the rides was still clear to be heard by all. At the end of the park was the Rondez-View ferris wheel, looming over everything.

  
  


Hilbert began to cautiously walk through the park, his eyes flicking left and right constantly, turning his head to check his blind spots every now and again. _Now, if I were a worthless Team Plasma terrorist scum, where would I be in a place like this?_

  
  


He looked around, and then up at the Rondez-View, and an evil grin oozed its way across his face. _Hmm… with a higher vantage point I might be able to spot them. Ferris wheel ride it is._

  
  


He increased his pace, walking towards the Rondez-View, still alert. Just as he was congratulating himself on being so cautious, he saw a flash of green hair in the crowd, and he froze, dread crawling up his spine like an insect. Before he could duck away and blend into the crowd, the green-haired guy turned around, and saw him, grinning. Hilbert swallowed. It was N!

  
  


His mind was screaming at him to run for the hills, but his body wouldn’t move as N quickly approached him. “Hilbert!” N said once he was within earshot- which apparently in N’s world, was _right in front of him._ “I know what you’re doing,” he continued, cocking his head to the side. “You’re looking for Team Plasma… aren’t you?” 

  
  


All Hilbert could let out in his state of shock was a weak, “Uh-huh.” 

  
  


“Then let’s go on the ferris wheel!” N said excitedly, his eyes suddenly lighting up, appearing more jubilant than Hilbert had ever seen him. “We’ll be able to spot them from up there. I just love ferris wheels… The circular movement… the complex mechanics… they’re simply marvels of engineering! Come on!” 

  
  


He grabbed Hilbert’s wrist in an ironclad grip that was almost painful and began dragging the boy toward the ride, Hilbert letting out a yelp. _What is this, Striaton all over again!?_ he thought in frustrated exasperation. There was a short line for the ride, and N kept his tight grip on Hilbert’s wrist the whole time, even when he started tugging to free himself. It was almost like his green-haired enemy didn’t _want_ him to get loose. Hilbert grit his teeth. _What the hell is going on here!?_

  
  


When it was their turn in line, the ride attendant opened the door to the car, N finally letting go of Hilbert’s wrist and shoving him inside. N then got in and closed the door before Hilbert could run out, the boy swearing as the car began to move and the ground was left behind. N took a seat on the right hand bench as the car climbed higher and higher, and he motioned for Hilbert to do the same on the opposite bench. 

  
  


“You may as well sit down,” he said. “There’s nowhere you can go.” 

  
  


“Fuck you,” Hilbert said, but nonetheless took a seat- it _was_ true, after all. 

  
  


A full thirty seconds went by in silence, N just staring idly out the window- the _wrong_ window to see the park, Hilbert noted. He looked at his reflection in the window and noticed for the first time just how dirty his hat was getting. The top of the formerly pitch-black bill was turning a rusty brown-red due to being faded by the sun, and the white parts were becoming more yellow from sweat and dirt. He scowled and looked away. 

  
  


“You know, Hilbert, I’ve always wondered: how many Pokemon exist in this world?” N said absentmindedly, perhaps even rhetorically. He was still looking out at the huge forest north of Nimbasa. 

  
  


Hilbert shrugged. “Dunno. World’s a big place. There’s probably hundreds of new Pokemon in far-off regions we’ve never even seen.” 

  
  


N just gave a quiet, contemplative grunt in acknowledgment, and the ferris wheel continued its slow rotation. Hilbert would have found it almost relaxing if he wasn’t trapped in here with his hated, Team Plasma-sympathizing enemy. Another twenty seconds of silence went by, the wheel past its apex and on its descent, when something occurred to the boy. 

  
  


“Say… how did you know I was looking for Team Plasma? How did you even know that they were in this city?” 

  
  


N smiled, turning his head towards him. He looked Hilbert dead in the eye. “Oh, that’s easy. It’s because I command them.” 

  
  


In that moment, Hilbert felt as though all the breath had been sucked out of him, like he was in the vacuum of space, and couldn’t get any air. “ _...What?”_ he said at last. 

  
  


“Yes, I command Team Plasma,” N said, as if admitting that one was the head of a terrorist organization was the most normal thing in the world. “I’m its king, in fact. I told those two grunts to lure you here by any means necessary, and they obviously succeeded.” 

  
  


Hilbert looked down at his hands, white-hot wrath beyond what words could describe filling him. _So… everything I’ve been through with Team Plasma… all that utter_ hell… _IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF HIM!?_

  
  


Suddenly, Ghetsis’s words in Castelia came back to him. “ _What Team Plasma hopes to achieve is to find one of these Legendary Pokemon, and together with a new hero, we will build a new world- one where people and Pokemon are distinct. A truly… black and white world, if you will. To that end, I have gathered knowledgeable people from all corners of the globe to serve as_ _advisers_ _for Team Plasma’s king.”_

  
  


_Ghetsis_ was _talking about N there! I was right!_ Hilbert thought. He balled his hands into fists and slowly stood up. 

  
  


N quirked a brow. “Hilbert?” 

  
  


That was all he had time to say as Hilbert lunged for him with an animalistic yell, hands open to try and grab his throat. N quickly sprang into action, standing up to avoid Hilbert, the blue-jacketed boy accidentally running into the seat. Taking his chance, N’s arm reached out and grabbed Hilbert by the hood of his jacket, swinging him around so he collided with the right window. N then quickly moved in, locking Hilbert’s arms behind his back with one hand and holding his face against the glass with the other. 

  
  


Hilbert struggled like a madman, trying to get loose, but to no avail. “LET ME GO, YOU BASTARD!” he yelled. “I’M GONNA KILL YOU! I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! EVERYTHING WRONG WITH UNOVA IS ALL YOUR _FAULT!”_

  
  


“ _No,”_ N said firmly, continuing to hold Hilbert in place. The ferris wheel went past the ground level and kept rotating, the scene inside shocking those who got a glimpse of it. It was about halfway up its new cycle when Hilbert noticed four Team Plasma grunts push their way through the crowd and congregate around the ferris wheel. They tossed the ride operator out of his spot, and one of them took his place, pulling a lever that stopped the ride, and then began to rotate it in the opposite direction, so Hilbert and N’s car moved towards the ground. 

  
  


_Oh, shit!_ Hilbert thought, but could do nothing as the car got closer and closer to the ground. He felt like he was being lowered into a water tank filled with hungry Sharpedo that wanted to eat him. Before long, the car reached ground level, N letting him go just before the door was opened and he was yanked out by one of the grunts, who punched him in the stomach. Hilbert crumpled to his knees, the wind knocked out of him. 

  
  


N shot the man a withering glare. “There’s no need for that.” He walked up to Hilbert, standing over him. “After all, we have other ways of breaking him. Now stand up.” 

  
  


Hilbert just looked up at his tormentor, still trying to get his breath back. “Go to hell,” he wheezed. 

  
  


N just sighed and shook his head. He gave a quick gesture with his arm, and one of the grunts came up behind Hilbert, hauling him to his feet. A crowd had gathered around them to see what the hubbub was about. N moved out to the fringes of it on the left, and Hilbert, already knowing what was coming, moved back as well. 

  
  


“Seems we have an audience,” N smirked. 

  
  


“Seems I’m about to kick your ass,” Hilbert shot back. He immediately threw out Makue, the Darumaka materializing before him. 

  
  


N reached into his pocket, pulling out a shrunken Poke Ball. He enlarged it, and threw it out. The Pokemon that emerged quickly made Hilbert realize what a mistake he just made in sending out his Fire-type, as he was now facing down a Sandile. 

  
_Wait… a Sandile!?_ Hilbert thought in shock. _Then I really_ did _see him out in the Desert Resort on my way to the Relic Castle! He must have been catching Pokemon out there! Even though he’s not a Trainer anymore… he’s just Team Plasma N now!_

  
  


N moved his head in a slow, circular motion, and his Sandile did the same, sand beginning to form around its snout. Without needing prompting, Makue gathered flame around her fist, and ran forward. However, it was too late. The Desert Croc Pokemon cracked its head like a whip, sending the Sand Tomb attack at her. Makue cried out as she was engulfed by the super-effective attack, the harsh substance starting to buffet her over and over, each hit draining her health. The crowd murmured among themselves, with some excitedly whispering, "I dunno about you, but my money's on the green guy."

  
  


Hilbert, hearing this, seethed. "What the hell are you talking about!?" he yelled, whirling to face them. "He's the head of a _terrorist group!_ This isn't the sort of fight you friggin' put bets on!"

  
  


"We'll do what we like, buddy," one man shot back. HIlbert narrowed his eyes murderously at him.

  
  


"Hey, look out!" one woman yelled at him. Hilbert turned around just in time to see the Sandile running at Makue and whack her in the face with its tail in an Assurance attack. This had the happy side effect of knocking her out of the sand tornado, but unfortunately, her health was now below half. She sprang to her feet, now beyond furious. She cloaked her fist in flame, running at the Sandile, but it was ready. It jumped out of the way of her attack, then whipped her in the face with its tail yet again, knocking her backwards and unconscious. The crowd let out a wave of polite applause at this- no doubt in N's favor, Hilbert knew.

  
  


_Alright, new plan,_ he thought. _Send out Maru, and knock that thing out with Water Pulse._ His mind made up, he recalled Makue, then grabbed his starter's Poke Ball, and threw it out. Maru materialized, taking a fighting stance against his opponent.

  
  


"So, I see you've evolved your Oshawott since we last met," N said coolly.

  
  


"Yeah, and he's also gonna take you down, asshole!" Hilbert yelled. "Maru, Water Pulse!"

  
  


Maru held out one hand with his palm facing up. A ball of water formed above his hand, which he then flattened into a ring by smacking it with his other hand. Cocking his arm back, he chucked the watery hoop at the Sandile, hitting dead-on and knocking it out in one hit. The crowd frantically whispered among themselves. From the little Hilbert could pick up on, it seemed they thought the fight could now go either way.

  
  


"Heh, seems like the people are my side now," Hilbert said, smirking at N. Though he knew it was a bluff, he was banking on the fact that N didn't hear as much as he had.

  
  


"Not for long," N replied, recalling his fainted Sandile and taking out his next Poke Ball. "Go, Maractus!"

  
  


The color drained from Hilbert’s face as he got a look at the Pokemon that materialized. _I should have sent out Sensei..._

  
  


Maractus was obviously a Grass-type, and even more obviously resembled a cactus. It had no legs per se, rather, its lower body was comprised of a single, thick green ‘stalk’ that ended with three leaf-like prongs. Most of its torso was light green, as was its head, but there were dark green accents on its wrists and around its neck. Two tall extensions poked out of its head, looking like rabbit ears. There was a pink flower on the end of each of these extensions. It had yellow eyes without pupils, and a yellow spike on its forehead.

  
  


"Pin Missile!" N yelled.

  
  


Maractus raised its arms, and a barrage of yellow needles shot out of its globular palms. Maru spun to the side, trying to dodge, but a few struck him in the arm, leaving him open to getting full-on blasted by another barrage. Thankfully, the needles dissolved before they hit anyone in the crowd.

  
  


"Maru!" Hilbert cried as his starter yelled in pain from being turned into a literal pincushion. "C'mon, shake it off! Water Pulse!" Though he knew the attack wouldn't do too much damage, any little bit would help.

  
  


Maru plucked out a particularly irritating needle that had lodged itself in his cheek, then formed a disk of water and threw it at the enemy Cactus Pokemon. To both his and his Trainer's shock, however, the attack splashed harmlessly on the Maractus, and it seemed to absorb the droplets into its body.

  
  


"Hmm, it seems that Maractus has Water Absorb as its ability," N mused aloud. "A lucky break on my part."

  
  


_Definitely should have sent out Sensei..._ Hilbert thought as what a disadvantage he was truly at sunk in. _Maru isn't totally defenseless_ _, though... Still have Fury Cutter, so might as well use it!_

  
  


As if reading his mind, Maru charged forwards, the edges of his seashells glowing green. He dodged another barrage of needles shot his way by rolling under them, then popped up and slashed, only for the Maractus to dance out of range, its torso swaying like a belly dancer. Growling, Maru kept up the assault, swiping his seashells again and again, but each time his attacks met empty air as the Maractus dodged and weaved around them. True to its name, its arms made noises like there were beads inside them as it moved. To gain some distance between it and its opponent, it bent backwards like it was performing limbo under a horizontal slash of Maru's seashells, then jumped back towards N.

  
  


Once safely away, it thrust its arms out, and a glowing yellow-green orb appeared in the center of Maru's chest, making him cry out in pain as energy was ripped out of himin the form of smaller yellow-green orbs that flew into Maractus. It let out a joyful cry, knowing the super-effective Mega Drain attack had been a complete success.

  
  


Hilbert grit his teeth. _This isn't going well. Maru's getting destroyed by that thing... and I might have no choice but to let him go down so I can take out that Maractus with someone else._

  
  


Meanwhile, the Maractus shook its head side-to-side in a carefree manner, its pupil-less eyes daring its opponent to make a move. Rage taking over him, Maru ran full-tilt for the Cactus Pokemon, spinning out of the way of another Pin Missile, and finally landed a Fury Cutter slash. Unfortunately, the force behind the blow was too great, and it knocked the Maractus out of range, so his follow-up slash missed. The Maractus popped back up, and then began to glow with a green outline around it. When it faded, it looked healed, as if Maru's attack never happened at all. Using another Mega Drain, it brought Maru down to his knees, then in a show of pure overkill, blasted him with four barrages of PIn Missile in a row. Maru screamed as he was stabbed in dozens of places simultaneously, succumbing to the onslaught, knocked out.

  
  


"Aw, _crap!"_ Hilbert yelled, quickly recalling his starter to his Poke Ball. He looked at N, but found that his enemy wasn't paying him much mind. He was instead looking down at his own Pokemon, smiling at its success. His gaze then lazily traveled up to meet Hilbert’s, and he spoke.

  
  


"Can you hear them, Hilbert?"

  
  


"What, the 'voices of our Pokemon', or whatever crap you say you can hear, you nutcase?"

  
  


"No, I mean the crowd. Listen to them. They're not on your side anymore."

  
  


It was then that Hilbert took notice of the crowd's chatter once more. In the heat of the moment with Maru's battle against the Maractus, he had totally ignored it. They were saying things like, "Wow, that green-haired guy is kicking ass!" and, "I think he'd be more than a match for even Elesa. I wonder how many Gym Badges he has already...". One particularly excited teen in the crowd even shouted, "Go, green-haired guy!"

  
  


Hilbert’s blood ran cold and his heart sank hearing this. _This was all a damn setup,_ he realized. _Those Plasma grunts luring me here, N running into me... it was all just a stunt so this could happen. Those rat bastards._

  
  


This realization was turned into rock-solid _conformation_ when N gave a little wave, addressing the people. "Thank you, sincerely! Myself and all those here representing the Plasma Organization appreciate your support, truly!" He glanced at Hilbert, giving an evil smirk to the seething boy.

  
  


_Time to wipe that smile off his fuckin' face!_ Grabbing his newest team member's Poke Ball, he threw it out. "Go, Artemis!" The Ball opened in midair, releasing the First Bird Pokemon.

  
  


Archen was a small winged creature that had traits of both a bird and a reptile. With the exception of its claws, talons, and large white eyes, it was entirely the three primary colors: Blue, red, and yellow. Its body and wings were mostly yellow, though it wings had scruffy blue feathers along the edges. Its red-and-blue head had visible scales on it, and there was a 'collar' of red feathers around its neck, with a blue arrowhead shape at the end of its tail- the same shape as was once embedded in the Plume Fossil.

  
  


Remembering Artemis's moveset, Hilbert commanded her to use what would be most effective against Maractus by far. "Use Pluck!"

  
  


With shocking speed, Artemis ran at her opponent, and pecked it hard with her beak. Peck’s 60 base power, plus STAB, combined with Archen’s 112 base attack, was more than enough to knock out Maractus in one hit. 

  
  


N grit his teeth, recalling his Pokemon. He knew he would have to play his cards carefully to win against the unexpected, and monstrously powerful, Archen. “Go, Darumaka!” He tossed out his next Poke Ball, and the tiny red Zen Charm Pokemon appeared, ready to fight. 

  
  


Hilbert gave a predatory grin, and he let out a short bark of laughter. “A Fire-type against a Rock/Flying-type, N? Are you dumb? Artemis, use AncientPower now!”

  
Artemis swept her wings up, and several rocks ripped themselves out of the ground, each with a glowing purple aura around them. With another gesture of her wings, the rocks were sent hurtling towards the Darumaka. Much to Hilbert’s surprise, it cartwheeled out of the way, just barely dodging the onslaught. It then popped up, and ran forward, striking Archen with a flaming fist. Artemis cried out shrilly as her feathers were engulfed in flames, leaving her with a burn that began to whittle down her health. 

  
  


“Dammit!” Hilbert yelled. “Artemis, try Pluck, now!” 

  
  


Artemis thrust her head forward, her sharp beak landing hard on the Darumaka, sending it backwards… but thanks to the burn cutting Artemis’s attack in half, it was able to just barely cling on. The Darumaka, knowing its time on the field was limited, launched itself at Artemis like a cannonball, landing a devastating Headbutt. Though the Normal-type attack wasn’t very effective against the Rock-type Archen, it was more than enough to drive its health deep into Defeatist range. Artemis began to pant heavily, its eyes drooping. Artemis tried one last Pluck, but it was slow, halfhearted, and easily dodged by the Darumaka. Succumbing to its burn, Artemis then went down, unconscious. 

  
  


With a snarl, Hilbert returned his Pokemon to her Ball. He knew he was slowly being backed into a corner, but wasn’t about to throw in the towel yet. “Get out there, Logan!” he yelled, tossing out his next team member. “Use Bite!” 

  
Baring his fangs, Logan raced for the Darumaka, with the Zen Charm Pokemon not even trying to dodge. It knew its time in the battle was over, and it fainted the second Logan chomped down on it.

  
  


"Darumaka, come back!" N called, returning his Pokemon to its Poke Ball, then held it up to his face. "You did well. We will win this, I promise."

  
  


"Shut up and send out your next Pokemon, dammit!" Hilbert shouted.

  
  


N's eyes immediately hardened, narrowing. "Very well. Go, Scraggy!"

  
  


Hilbert let out a sharp exhale of breath in worry. _Dammit, that thing's part Fighting-type!_ Recovering quickly, he yelled, "Logan, Take Down! Take it out, fast!"

  
  


Hopping back a few steps, Logan then raced for his opponent, tucking his head in to improve his aerodynamics, preparing to ram Scraggy with everything he had. The Shedding Pokemon, however, didn't so much as twitch as Logan barreled towards it. At the last moment, it literally vanished into thin air, then reappeared beside Logan as he skidded to a stop, body-checking him. Logan yelped and was sent rolling onto his side.

  
  


_Another damn Faint Attack... how did I not see that one coming!?_ Hilbert thought. He then gasped. "Logan, look out-!"

  
  


It was too late. The Scraggy jumped into the air, coming down and landing a brutal Brick Break chop, knocking Logan's health down to the low yellow in an instant. It then followed that up with a quick Headbutt to finish the job.

  
  


Hilbert grit his teeth, recalling his Pokemon. _At least now I can bring Sensei to bear. He should be able to clean up, easily._ He tossed out the Karate Pokemon, ordering him to use Double Kick.

  
  


Sensei ran at Scraggy, pivoting on his heel, and lashed out with his right leg, slamming the Shedding Pokemon right in its bulbous head. He then turned around, only for his opponent to vanish and reappear behind him, body-checking him like it had done to Logan. Enraged, Sensei spun around, sweeping his leg out, upending the Scraggy. It was knocked out the second its head hit the grass. 

  
  


N recalled his Pokemon, then grabbed his last Poke Ball, and threw it. What materialized made Hilbert’s face pale. “Oh, shit! It’s a Sigilyph! Sensei, be careful!”

  
  


Sigilyph, even among all the exotic and foreign Pokemon Unova had to offer, could only be classified as strange. Its main body was spherical, with two cyan eyes in a black zigzag stripe in the center. It also had a third eye on a black appendage on top of its body, beside which sprouted its multicoloured wings. They were spindly and primarily yellow, though there were red and blue stripes on their tips. There were two spiky black ‘feet’ protruded from the sides of its body, resembling the ends of forks, and it had a multicoloured tail reminiscent of its wings coming out the bottom of its body.

Sigilyph, without needing a command, fired a pink beam of energy from its body. Sensei put his arms up in a futile bid to defend himself from the super-effective attack, but was blasted backwards as the Psybeam made contact, knocking him out instantly. 

  
  


Grimacing, Hilbert recalled Sensei, and grabbed his own last Poke Ball, throwing it out. _I’m not going down without a fight,_ he thought determinedly, tossing out Scrapper. Something then hit him. _Dammit, I forget to teach Scrapper that Rock Tomb TM I picked up! I'm such an idiot!_

Luckily, N didn't order his Pokemon to attack right away. “Tailwind, Sigilyph!” he cried. Sigilyph flapped its wings, causing powerful gusts of wind to come in from behind it.

_Okay… what the hell did that do?_ Hilbert thought, then he shook his head. _Ah, doesn’t matter. Just gotta take out that Sigilyph, whatever it takes!_ “Scrapper, Hone Claws, then use Metal Claw!” 

  
  


Scrapper rapidly began scraping his claws against each other. When he was done, a yellow-orange aura surrounded him. His claws then took on a metallic sheen, and he ran at the Sigilyph, jumping for it, but the Avianoid Pokemon quickly swooped to the side, turned on a dime, and blasted Scrapper with another Psybeam as he fell back to earth. 

  
  


Scrapper yelled as he was sent flying backwards, landing hard, but managed to push himself to his feet. He then put his claws above his head, jumped about a foot in the air, and dove into the ground, spinning like a drill the entire time. 

  
  


“Scrapper, no!” Hilbert yelled. “Dig’s a Ground-type move! It’s not gonna do anything against that thing..!” 

  
  


It was too late. All Hilbert could do was watch helplessly as a mound of dirt moved its way under Sigilyph, and soon, Scrapper popped up, slashing with his claws, but they met nothing but empty air. Sigilyph seized this opportunity, using Air Cutter, sending a wave of razor sharp air-blades at his opponent. Scrapper, still being waist-deep in dirt, was unable to dodge, being slashed dozens of times in a second by the air-blades. Showing no mercy, Sigilyph moved over him, and fired a Psybeam directly downward, blasting Scrapper a full five feet underground and knocking him out. 

  
  


Stunned and aghast, Hilbert fell to his knees, recalling Scrapper. He had lost. He had actually… _lost._ In desperation, he ran his hands over his belt of Poke Balls. Surely there was some mistake, surely he’d only used five of his team members, he _had_ to have someone else..! But no. He was out of Pokemon, and therefore was the loser.

  
The crowd burst into cheers. N gave a mock half-bow, then with slow, almost taunting strides, made his way over to Hilbert. "I believe an exchange of prize money is in order," he said. "So give me your Trainer Card. _Now."_

  
  


In a daze, Hilbert reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the rectangular piece of plastic. N snatched it out of his hand, and tapped it against his, facilitating the transfer of money.

  
  


Satisfied, N gave an evil smile and turned back to the gathered crowd, tossing Hilbert’s Trainer Card over his shoulder. "I believe I have demonstrated here to you, people of Nimbasa," he began, "The sheer power of Team Plasma, and why resisting the glorious future we hope to create, where humans and Pokemon are separate, is worthless! So don't fight it! Embrace it! Join me now, do your part to help shape the world we desire, and release your Pokemon!"

  
  


A Plasma grunt came forward, handing N some healing items, which he used to restore his fainted Pokemon to full health. One by one, he let them go, and they each gave him a sad look, practically having to be shooed away by the young man, much to his visible confusion.

  
  


Then, to Hilbert’s horror, people in the crowd began to pull Poke Balls out from various places on their persons, and let the creatures inside go. "What the hell are you all _doing!?"_ he yelled, finally rising to his feet. "Don't listen to that bastard! Don't you see!? You're all playing right into his hands!"

  
  


"And who are you to say what they can and can't do?" N said, giving him a glance over his shoulder. "You lost that battle, after all. You have no say in this."

  
  


_"I'll show you who has no say!"_ Hilbert roared, his anger now sparked. He ran at N, fully intending to tackle him to the ground and pummel him half to death. N just sighed, not moving an inch, merely waiting for the right moment. When it came, he whirled around, widening his stance in the same smooth motion, putting most of his weight in the back leg, and delivered a brutal underhanded punch to HIlbert's gut.

  
  


The boy let out a strangled cough, seeing flecks of spittle fly out of his mouth as if in slow-motion, before the world sped back up and he landed hard on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Having suffered three blunt impacts to his stomach that night, he was sure he was going to be bruised for days straight. In between coughs of trying to get his breath back, he heard N say, "Let's get out of here. The point has been proven, so I'd say mission accomplished."

  
  


He turned his head just in time to see his hated enemy and the grunts turn tail and run away, out of the park. Giving one more cough, he rolled over onto his hands and knees. Fury was blazing in his eyes. _Oh, if he thinks I'm gonna just give up after that, he's got another thing damn well coming. I'm gonna kill you, N. No matter what it takes. I WILL. Kill you._


End file.
